A Roaring Heart
by Screaming Kittycat
Summary: Kakashi found a baby experimented on by Orochimaru. The moment she looked into his eyes he decided that she would become his daughter and he would raise her. Follow the tigress of Konoha as she becomes one of the greatest kunoichis of her generation and the greatest love of Sasuke Uchiha
1. I found a baby

**This is a rewrite of a Shadow that only wants love. I am deleting the original when the chapters align so please read or download the original before it has been deleted.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto Anime, the credit goes to Masashi Kishimoto.**

 **Claimer: I own the characters I create and any unoriginal plot.**

 **Please Enjoy this chapter.**

It was a disgusting sight that laid before a young Kakashi Hatake and an Anbu who was titled Bear. Bodies and blood littered the halls and all the corpses were of various ages ranging from the elderly an young teenagers. A had to be put down by the two Anbu. "How in the world can Orochimaru stand this?" Bear muttered angrily as he sniffed the moudly and decay smelling air that permeated around them.

"How can anyone stand this, I certainly can't" Kakashi replied with a lazy drawl. Whilst he acted as though he was uncaring of the situation he was in, his uncovered eye was alert and looking around for any signs of life.

"Should we look for Orochimaru?" the bear-masked man asked.

"Why don't we just focus on finding survivors, he no doubt fled when he knew we were getting closer" Kakashi said quietly but followed the his team member nonetheless. The further they entered the more disgusting the scenery was, the experiments that Orochimaru had done were truly evil and wrong. Bodies littered the area with various lacerations and open wounds with Infectious Diseases crawling within they're rotting corpses.

"And I thought I could keep my stomach but no-wait" Bear brought his arm out to stop Kakashi "Do you hear that?" he asked in surprise.

"Waa waaaaaa waaa!" a sound echoed from down the hall. Only one creature could make such a sound.

"Is that…a baby crying!?" Bear cried in shock, without even thinking he sped off towards the sound with the Copy Cat Nin hot on his heels. The pair stopped when the crying was at its loudest and low and behold, there, amidst the pile of dead experiments was a baby lying on a surgery table, terrified and alone. Kakashi ran up to the child and pulled it into his arms "It's a baby girl?" the baby calmed down at Kakashi's touch. "Do you think she is one of Orochimaru experiments?"

"Hmm" Kakashi looked over the small child, her skin had small holes where needles had been pierced into her skin. His eyes narrowed when he saw the black marks on her skin, marks like the stripes on a tiger were on her shoulders and thighs. Two more stripes marred her skin on either of her faces, beginning at the end up her cheekbones to her jaw and the other beginning just below the ends of her lips and ended at her jaw. She had small tuffs of spiky white hair and a pair of golden eyes slitted like a cats that stared at him curiously. He also noticed a short fluffy white and black striped tail that wrapped around the arm that held her. "I think she is and I think she was a success. We managed to force Orochimaru to flee before he could take her with him." The baby babbled random noises whilst she began playing with the finger Kakashi put near her hands.

"Well it doesn't matter, we found a survivor so we should get her to the Hospital and inform the Hokage immediately" Kakashi nodded and wrapped the baby up in his Chunin vest before they raced off.

They arrived at the Konoha Hospital after a day's run. The baby was surprisingly quiet and cooperative during their travels but only if she was in Kakashi's arms.

Bear had run off to bring the Hokage to the hospital and inform them of the success of their mission. Kakashi stayed with the baby and brought her Doctor Hiroshi. If anyone could figure out what had been done to this baby it would be him. "Kakashi, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" the Doctor asked from his desk.

"I need an examination of a baby before the Hokage arrives" he unravelled his vest and brought the baby out so the Doctor could see.

"My, my" the Doctor said in astonishment as he stared at the sleeping child "I've never seen a creature such as this" he placed his glasses closer to his eyes and stared at the baby inquisitorially "if you would place her on the table I will begin the examination" the silver-haired ninja nodded and gently placed the baby on down with the vest underneath her so she wouldn't wake up from the cold. He stepped back and allowed the Doctor to look at the girl.

The Doctor's hands glowed a soft pale green as he used his Chakra, he muttered to himself as he moved his hands over the babies body, examining and healing at the same time. Just as he finished, the door to his office opened and the Hokage walked inside. "Good afternoon Hokage," Doctor Hiroshi said with a bow "you're just in time, I've finished my examination of the child."

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes as he stared at the cat-like baby "quite a curious baby, I've never seen anything like this. Tell me what you have found."

Hiroshi nodded and pushed his glasses up his nose once more "from my examination I can deduct that she has been spliced with a felines DNA. She is born of a woman so I can assume that the DNA was injected into a pregnant female when the baby was a mere foetus. It is a marvellous feat of Genetic mutation but I cannot fathom what a mutated female could be used for, especially to one such as Orochimaru."

Sarutobi's expression darkened at the sannin's name "I can think of many reasons why Orochimaru would create such a being" he looked back down to the sleeping baby "but enough of that, what matters now is what we must do with the child."

"I'll take her" Kakashi finally spoke, he had been silent since the examination started. His eyes remained on the sleeping child and did not look away until the Hokage had asked what to do.

"You want to raise the babe?" Hokage asked in surprise "whilst I would be happy to give her to you, you are still a child yourself. A 14 year old cannot raise a baby, especially one as special as this."

"I am also an Anbu who can only be chosen if they are mature and highly skilled. I would not be one if you did not trust my capabilities."

"You are still an Anbu Kakashi, raising a baby is a full-time duty and whilst I will allow you to be dismissed from your duties for this task I must know if you are willing to handle such an important mission."

Kakashi remained silent whilst his mind raced through any and all possibilities. He had no idea as to why he had said he would raise the girl. It was as the Hokage said, he's a 14 year old boy and whilst he is quite mature, he has no skills or knowledge in raising a baby. He looked back down to the sleeping baby who giggled at whatever she was dreaming about. The corner of his mouth twitch when he saw her tail and nose twitch. He sighed and made up his mind "I will take on this mission. If Orochimaru wants to reclaim her then she will need to be in the care of someone who can hold him off long enough to gather reinforcements."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed deeply "very well, you will have three years to raise the child without any disruptions. After that, you will return to your station as she will be able to take care of herself when you are not present."

"Of course Hokage" Kakashi replied with a low bow. He scooped the baby into his arms and allowed her to curl into his chest.

"I must create the proper documents before you may take her home" Hiroshi cut in "they must also be signed by the Hokage so that she can be given citizenship."

"Very well" the Hokage replied "but first, she must be given a name. Perhaps her father should be the one to name her" he said to Kakashi teasingly. Kakashi was too young to be a father, more like a babysitter. For now of course.

"Mieko Hatake" he christened her. She stirred slightly, as if accepting the name as her own.

"Beautiful blessed child. A fitting name." Hiruzen said softly, a sweet smile on his usually stern face. "I will order a female Anbu to hather the necessary supplied needed to raise a girl and inform you on all you need to know. You will be given an allowance on top of your Anbu wages to ensure both you and Mieko is well provided for."

Kakashi nodded silently and pulled his arms tighter around his daughter. It was strange to hear him call a baby that. Even though he was young the prospect of marrying and having children was foreign. He wasn't interested in women and he didn't think he'd ever be. He did see himself with children though. He didn't want any kids to be raised alone like he did, to be abandoned. That may have been why he chose to adopt Mieko. Her mother had abandoned her, either she fled from Orochimaru or he killed her. Either way, she would have been left to a horrible fate had he not found her.

Mieko Hatake, welcome to Konoha.


	2. How do I raise a baby?

After a month of raising Mieko, Kakashi was beginning to struggle. She was a perfect child but only when he stays with her. She'll cry if he leaves her or when she wakes up and finds he's gone. He needed time to himself, raising a child is hard work, especially when that child is part tiger. He's gotten the cat part right, with the help of the Inuzuka clan he was able to get some knowledge of cat-like behaviour. He used to panic and think something was wrong when Mieko would sleep for hours on end, turns out that's just how cats are. He also found out that instead of baby food, Mieko could only be fed milk. Luckily the village had multitudes of wet-nurses who supplied breast milk for a reasonable charge. There were many Konoha Kunoichi who could not feed their child as they were on missions so they would hire babysitters who would breastfeed. It was a good job as the ladies would have a steady income that would allow them to be very comfortable until they chose to stop having children.

After another night of loud crying, he decided to find to someone who knew how to raise a human child. There were plenty of mothers in Konoha, he just felt weird about approaching them. The last time he did he didn't get to find anything out as the mother decided it was better to flirt with him and coo at the baby. Being a single father was a turn on for women, which was weird because he was 14 and they were older than 20.

As he was walking the streets with Mieko in his arms – she hates prams and he hates harnesses – he saw someone who may have been able to help "Mikoto" he said with relief.

The beautiful Uchiha matriarch turned to him and smiled "Kakashi, what a pleasant surprise!" in her arms was a chubby baby boy who was sleeping soundly. "I haven't seen you in quite a while" she looked down and gasped at the child in his arms "oh, this must be the famed Hatake baby I've heard so much about" she cooed at the sweet little girl "I see she hates to be in prams just as much a Sasuke does."

"Yes, you're quite right. I actually need your help with her actually."

"Of course Kakashi. To adopt a baby so young must be a difficult task, brave yes, but difficult. Follow me to the Uchiha compound and we can talk there, I need to feed Sasuke soon" he nodded and followed alongside her. "So, tell me, what do you need help with?"

"Mieko doesn't like to be put down. As soon as I do she cries loudly and doesn't stop until I pick her up. She sleeps all day as a tiger would but stays awake all night, especially when I need to sleep."

She hummed at him "yes, I can see the tiredness in your eyes. It is quite natural to not get any sleep the first year or so. Do you know when she was born?" She asked as she readjusted Sasuke in her arms.

"Doctor Hiroshi believes that she was born in May as her eyesight was still underdeveloped when he examined her. Since she is part feline she could only see light and shapes."

"So she was born two months before my Sasuke" Mikoto gave birth only two weeks ago, she had the body any pregnant woman would dream of. She had already trimmed the added weight and probably had no stretch marks either.

They arrived at the Uchiha compound and walked into the Matriarchs home. It was the largest and most prestigious of all the Uchiha's houses as her and her husband Fugaku were the leaders of the clan. Once they were settled in the lounge room Mikoto grabbed a blanket and covered her chest as she fed Sasuke. "Are you ok with me feeding Sasuke?"

"Of course, it is a natural part of life."

"Have you fed Mieko today?" she asked kindly only to wince.

"Are you alright?" Kakashi asked with concern.

"I'm perfectly fine, Sasuke likes to nibble, it doesn't hurt much as he only has gums but when he tugs it is a little painful."

"Of course, and to answer your question I fed her about an hour ago. She'll no doubt be hungry when she wakes."

"If you would like I can feed her? That is if she isn't formula fed."

"She can't handle formula, her cat side needs natural food or she gets sick." As though she had heard him speaking, Mieko woke up and grumbled as she fidgeted.

"Pass her here" Mikoto cooed gently, she loved children. They were a blessing that brightened anyone's day. Kakashi nodded and hesitantly passed his daughter over to the matriarch. She placed the baby under her blanket and made sure that the two babies were comfortable with being so close to each other. Luckily, neither cared about the other as food was more important. "Now, you were saying that she won't stop crying when you put her down?"

"Yes, she must like you though. She doesn't like anyone touching her." He showed Mieko to all his friends, Asuma Sarutobi, Might Guy – though he isn't really a friend – Yugato Nii and Kurenai Yūhi. They all took turns in holding Mieko and she wailed with every one of them. Mikoto must have a natural connection to children.

"What I have learnt from Itachi and Sasuke is that for the first year, to help with her sleeping alone, all you need to do is put her where she sleeps or even just beside you and rest a hand on her head or stroke her arm, so long as she knows that you are there then it will be fine. Soon enough she will be fine with sleeping alone. Is there anything else you may need help with?"

"No I don't believe so, I should probably be getting home soon, Mieko likes to sleep after she's fed."

"Oh, she can sleep here if you like? That way you can have some time to yourself."

Kakashi frowned "I don't…I don't know about that…" he said hesitantly, he didn't know about having her sleep here without him. He hasn't left her side since he first brought her home.

"Kakashi, you are a 14 year old boy who has so much of his life ahead of him. Why don't we see if she will sleep beside Sasuke, I've seen children with attachment issues sleep perfectly fine with another baby beside them."

"If it works then…perhaps it would be a good idea" he did want some time alone, even if it was to sleep for hours without interruption.

"Excellent" she used her teeth to move the blanket so the two kids were revealed. Kakashi tried not to blush when he saw her breasts. He grabbed Mieko and brought her to his arms whilst Mikoto covered herself. "If you follow me, they can sleep in my bed." They walked into the master bedroom and placed the two babies besides each other. They remained silent as they watched the two babies interact.

Two big black eyes slowly opened and stared into a pair of golden ones, he tilted his head to the right and watched as the thing in front of him did the same. He giggled which made the thing giggle too, he crawled closer to the strange thing that looked up at him. He brought his hand out and touched the weird things on top then touched the things on his head, it was the same. He then touched the thing that protruded from just below the golden, he had the same thing too. He continued this for several moments, his smile widening when he realised this thing was the same as him "Aga!" he cried happily.

"Igoo!" the thing cried back, they both giggled.

"Well, it seems they like each other" Kakashi commented with a soft smile.

"Aww, I don't even want to separate them" Mikoto cooed as she watched the two babies curl up with each other.

"Why not see what happens" Kakashi replied, Mikoto nodded and pulled the girl into her arms.

"Waa!" it wasn't the girl that began to cry but Sasuke which in turn made the girl cry, Mikoto smiled and placed the small girl back with Sasuke. They both fell asleep, curled up beside each other once again.

"It seems Sasuke liked Mieko, it will be difficult to take her away from him. Hopefully, Itachi will be home when we do." Mikoto turned to Kakashi "now off you go. Get some sleep and do whatever you need to do before picking her up."

"Are you sure you're fine to look after her?" Kakashi asked once more, he knew she would be fine but his worries wouldn't stop rushing over him.

"Yes, of course, she will be fine. I'll feed her again in another hour. Come back in 3 hours and she will be ready to go."

"Thank you Mikoto, I suppose I shall be off now" he smiled at her and said his goodbyes as he walked off. Sleep was definitely his first priority.


	3. My baby wants to be a ninja

Years went by and Kakashi felt comfortable in raising Mieko, he knew everything there is to know about babies and kittens so his daughter would have the best life she could have. He treated it just like a mission, he would do it to the best of his abilities and make sure it was a success, meaning that his little kitten would become a strong, beautiful, smart and kind woman when she gets older.

Mikoto had been a great help in raising his child. Sasuke had grown a little crush on Mieko, he would giggle and babble happy words whenever Mieko would come over for their play date and would cry when she had to go. His crush continued even as they grew older, If their friendship stood the test of time well, they could be a great team if they decided to become Shinobis.

He wished that Minato and Kushina could have met Mieko, they would have loved her. He felt terrible about ignoring the baby Naruto but he couldn't look at him. He looked too much like his father that it caused him great pain. He did not hate Naruto like the other villagers, it was not Naruto's fault that the nine-tailed fox nearly destroyed the town. In fact, it was his parent's sacrifice that sealed the beast within the boy, if anything he is a hero. The Copy Cat Nin felt that Mieko and Naruto would get along quite well if he is anything like his parents.

As Mieko grew she became more beautiful by the day, and wiser. She was much like him when he was a child, smarter than the other kids and full of talent. Given time she would become a prodigy like him as well.

At just five years old she had come up to him to ask if she could become a ninja, it was rather surprising as most kids would rather play with dolls and friends at that age. Though the only friend she had was Sasuke, it was still surprising.

He was hesitant to give her an answer as he didn't let her outside the apartment much as people would stare at her with disgusted or queer looks. Since she looks different and was unknown people looked at her as if she was an outsider. It was painful to keep her like a prisoner but it was for the best. Perhaps that was why she was so much like him.

In the end, he decided he would prepare her before he would send her to the Shinobi Academy. You could enter the school at whatever age so long as you were skilled but most people would enter their kids at 8, just as he would do with Mieko. She needed to be normal and not teased like Itachi was when he joined early.

From that day forth he began to train her. He started with theory, it is better to know how to do something before trying it. He versed her in weaponry, chakra, strategy and any normal form of education like mathematics, English and history. It is better to know about the past so you are not doomed to repeat it.

Then after he knew that she had all the knowledge he taught her down pact he started the physical. It was hard to teach Mieko when he had returned to Anbu duty. Luckily he wasn't on as many missions as before. He was actually thinking about becoming a Jounin so he can be the one to continue her training.

After three years of training, he believed she was ready and prepared to start school. Her skills would help her to be seen as a skilled Kunoichi and not a mutated human. He had heard that Sasuke was also joining school so at least she had one person she already knew.

"This is going to be so much fun, papa!" Mieko yelled chipperly, her excitement was palpable. For someone so wise she was still quite childlike.

"Remember the reason you are joining, this is not a play school, it is a place of learning" Kakashi scolded his daughter which caused her to pout.

"Of course Papa, I'm sorry for letting my emotions get the best of me" she bowed her head slightly.

Kakashi smiled and stroked her hair, he didn't want to ruin the high ponytail she had painstakingly crafted. "It's fine, this is your first day and you are still a child. Just remember to do your best and try your hardest" she nodded and hugged him around the waist when they arrived at the front door. Many other parents and children were doing the same, wishing good lucks and saying goodbyes. "I wish you luck and I know you will make me proud."

"I love you papa" she kissed his covered cheek when he leant down and quickly ran off when she saw a familiar head of spiky black hair. "Sasuke-Kun!" she called out to the young boy who clung to his brother's arm.

"Hey Mieko-chan!" he called back as she ran into his arms "can you believe it!? We're gonna be Ninja!" he cheered as they separated.

"This is gonna be soo cool!" she squealed as she turned to Itachi "Hi Itachi-kun."

"Hello Mieko, are you ready for today?" he asked her with a kind smile, as an Anbu, he did not show any emotion but when it came to Sasuke and Mieko he was willing to show a smile or two.

"Yes, papa has been training me for this moment" she looked over at the door "we should probably enter, I'd like to pick my seat before anyone else."

"Good idea, see ya Nii-san!" Sasuke hugged his brother and dragged Mieko inside. "Are you alright Mieko-chan?" he asked when he felt his friend fidgeting with his hand. her tail was twitching from left to right.

"I'm nervous, this is the first time since I've been around so many people" Sasuke was well aware of Mieko's lonely upbringing, he's the only friend she has and though he was honoured to be such he felt bad that she had no one else.

"You're gonna make lots of friends today! I promise!" he sent her a winning smile that made her cheeks redden.

"You are the greatest person I've ever met" she squeezed his hand as they finally reached their classroom. They were early so there weren't many other students. "here we go…" she muttered to herself as Sasuke opened the door.

They stepped inside and ignored the curious stares "whose she?"

"She's really pretty!"

"She has a tail!"

"She's weird!"

They were a mix of good and bad comments, either way, she tried not to care. As long as she has Sasuke then she would be fine.

"Oh Sasuke-Kun, who is this!?" a girl with cherry pink hair jumped in front of them, making them jerk in surprise.

"Oh…Sakura, this is Mieko Hatake. My childhood friend" Sasuke replied with a monotonous voice. he hated all his fan girls. "Mieko…Sakura Haruno."

The tiger-like girl put on a smile but she could tell that Sasuke did not like this girl. The blushing cheeks and shining eyes directed at Sasuke told her that this girl liked him _very_ much. "It is a pleasure to meet you Sakura Haruno," she said with a short bow, though she didn't like this girl either. She didn't like anyone who gave Sasuke the look the pink haired girl was giving him.

"Nice to meet you!" Sakura cheered back, though she was screaming on the inside.

 **No, there is another rival for Sasuke-Kun's love! This girl is a freak!"** she would win Sasuke's love, no matter what.

"Come Mieko, let's find our seats" the girl nodded and followed her friend, ignoring the jealous glares sent to her by the many females in the class.

Sasuke sat at the very edge of the seat whilst Mieko sat next to him, this was obviously a ploy to make sure no one would get near him.

Suddenly, the door slammed open and a blonde haired kid strode in. His bright blue eyes were hopeful yet nervous. She also noted the strange whisker marks and beastly chakra the boy had. Much like her own yet different somehow, who was this boy? She decided she would find out after class.

Mieko's first day was fantastic, everyone was so happy to learn and the lesson was great. There were things that her father had yet to teach her and things she already knew. Her teacher, Iruka-sensei, knew absolutely everything on anything.

Right now she was wandering the streets, looking at everything with fascinated eyes. She was meant to head to the Uchiha compound as she was to have dinner with Sasuke and his parents tonight. Maybe Shisui would be there, she liked him, he was so funny and happy.

"Oh look, it's that child again" Mieko stopped to listen to the two ladies talking at a nearby café "I don't know why he sits on those swings every day, he should just stay home" she looked over to where they were looking and there, sitting on the swing was a boy which she had learned was called Naruto Uzumaki in class today. He was so happy and confident today so why does he look so…sad.

"I don't know why they allow him to stay in the village after what happened."

"Shh we're not allowed to talk about that," the other woman says, Mieko walked passed the two ladies who looked at her and headed over to the boy.

She stopped before the boy and waited for him to look up before speaking "Hi."

"…hi" the boy replied, feeling confused as to why this girl was talking to him. He saw her in class today, she's really cute and he liked her tail. He assumed she would not talk to him considering she was Sasuke's friend.

"Why are you sitting by yourself?" she asked innocently, not knowing the reason.

"No one wants to play with me, and the adults of this village hate me" he looked at her curiously "Why are you talking to me?"

"Because you looked sad so I thought I should say hi, no one deserves to be alone" she sat down in front of him.

"But won't your parents get angry that you're near me"

"I can worry about my papa later" an idea suddenly popped into her head "Hey why don't we play a game!?" she jumped back on her feet.

"You want to play a game?" he was still confused but you could clearly see the excitement in his blue eyes "But you don't even know who I am?"

"I know your name is Naruto Uzumaki. Mines Mieko Hatake."

"Well Mieko, what should we play?" he asked as he stood on his feet, this day may become better.

"How about we play tag!?" she touched his shoulder and began running away "You're it!" Naruto smiled and chased after her, it was the first time that he ran through the village and ignored all the stares directed at him. His focus was on the girl he was playing with, the first person to actually play a game with him.

"Mercy! Mercy I can't run anymore" Mieko was laughing and panting from running all afternoon, she collapsed on the floor with Naruto following "That was fun!"

"Yeah it was!" the blonde hadn't had so much fun in ages "It's pretty late huh?"

"Yeah, I should be getting to Sasuke's house" she pushed up from the floor then helped Naruto "We should do this again sometime," she said, smiling sweetly.

"I agree!"

"MIEKO!" the whitette froze when hearing her name, she turned around and smiled sheepishly at a raven-haired boy who was stomping his way towards her "Where have you been I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Sorry Sasuke" Sasuke nodded then frowned when he noticed Naruto.

"What are you doing with him?" Naruto and Mieko frowned.

"I was playing tag with him! It was really fun!" she smiled and looked over to Naruto.

"Well you're coming home now" Sasuke grabbed Mieko's hand and began pulling her away.

She turned around and waved at Naruto who was frowning "Bye Naruto I'll come play with you tomorrow!"

"Ok bye Mieko!" a large smile grew on his face, he finally had a friend.

Mieko had a great dinner with Sasuke and his parents…until it turned into the worst night of her life.

She was clinging to Sasuke tightly, his arms were around her so her face was pressed into his chest so she didn't see any more of the bloodshed before them. He stared into his brother's eyes with pure hatred at what he did, he not only scared Mieko but he murdered every Uchiha "W-why?" he whispered, he felt betrayed by the one person who mattered to him more than anyone on the planet.

"You are weak…only with hatred will you gain the strength to defeat me" Itachi looked at Mieko "Better keep her safe Sasuke, she's special" with that he turned around and left, tears streaming down his face, what he had just done will haunt him for the rest of his life.

"S-Sasuke" Mieko whimpered pathetically, blood, there was so much blood.

"Don't look Mieko" he spoke, although he knew she already saw.

"I'm scared," she said in-between sobs.

"Don't worry Mieko, I'll protect you" he tightened his hold on her, making a silent promise that he would protect her and kill his brother for making her cry.

After who knows how long of cowering in the corner, the door slammed open and a group of Shinobi entered the house and gasped at what they saw. "Is anyone still alive?" a Shinobi asked.

"Over there, in the corner!" another yelled, pointing to the two cowering children. The white-haired man cautiously walked over to the two kids, he froze when the boy glared at him and tightened his hold on the girl protectively.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you" he raised his hands in defence "My name is Takao Minta and I'm a Shinobi" the boy relaxed but only a little "Can you tell me your name?" he asked softly.

"Sasuke Uchiha" Takao nodded.

"And the girl," he asked, pointed to the sleeping girl in the boy's arms.

"Mieko Hatake" Takao nodded once more.

"Well Sasuke, am I allowed to take Mieko from you so I can take you both to the hospital?" Sasuke nodded but reluctantly, he kept his eyes trained on Takao as he walked with Mieko in his arms.

"Mieko!" Kakashi shouted in fear as he arrived at the Uchiha compound, he ran straight to Takao and pulled his sleeping daughter into his arms. "is she alright?" he asked the Shinobi.

"Terrified out of her mind no doubt but she has sustained no injuries" Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Sasuke.

"Are you alright Sasuke?" the boy nodded, a glare stuck on his face. Kakashi saw the look of pure hatred in the boy's eyes and began worrying about them both. how could Itachi do this?

Sasuke sat on the chair beside Mieko's bed with Kakashi standing on the other side silently. Both of the kids had been checked for injuries and so now they were just waiting for Mieko to awaken before asking her the same questions they asked Sasuke "mmm" Mieko groaned and opened her eyes, becoming panicked when she didn't know where she was.

"Mieko calm down" she relaxed and turned to look at Sasuke, tears beginning to spill.

"S-Sasuke" she sniffled and clutched her bed sheets tightly. Kakashi remained silent, deciding that Sasuke and Mieko should have this moment.

"You're fine now" he replied emotionlessly.

"But Fugaku and Mikoto-"

"Are gone, don't think about it or you'll feel worse" she nodded and did as he suggested, "I have to get the Shinobi who carried you here, he wants to ask you some questions" she nodded once more and watched him leave.

"Are you alright Mieko?" she jumped and turned to the voice beside her only to realise it was her father.

"Papa…" the tears were never-ending. Without another thought, she jumped into her father's arms and cried. He held her tightly, thinking that he had failed to protect her.

They broke apart slightly when the door opened. Instead, Kakashi slipped onto the bed and placed Mieko on his lap so her back leant against his chest "Hello there Mieko, my name is Takao Minta" he gave him a smile and stood beside her bed "Tell me Mieko, how are you feeling?"

"Ok I guess" she spoke softly as she fiddled with her dad's hand.

"And do you remember…what happened?" he asked cautiously, frowning when he saw tears threatening to spill as she nodded "I see…" he was going to ask more questions but stopped when he saw Kakashi glaring at him "that's all I wanted to ask you, I will come back if I need anything else" she nodded and watched him leave, turning to the glaring Sasuke.

"Are you ok Sasuke?" she asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, Mieko I'm ok."

"Why don't you return to your room Sasuke and get some sleep" Kakashi offered, he could see the shadows under the poor boy's eyes.

"Of course" he nodded and left the room, still stuck in his darkening thoughts. He would kill his brother if it was the last thing he'd do.

"You should get some sleep as well my kitten."

"Can…Can you stay here papa?" she whispered fearfully, she didn't want to be left alone. she was afraid that Itachi would come back to finish the job.

"Of course, I will never leave you" she nodded and closed her eyes, slowly falling asleep as she pondered on the events that had just happened. From now on she would become stronger so she could protect Sasuke like he would for her, she wanted to get stronger so she could protect her new friend Naruto. And she wanted to get stronger so that her papa never had to worry about her again.

Everything has changed.

 **3 years later**

"So Sasuke, do you think you will graduate this year?" Sakura 'flirted', if you could really call it that.

"Of course I will graduate" Sasuke snorted.

"I hope we will be on the same team then" she giggled but then frowned when she heard a snort from behind her "Got a problem Mieko" Mieko merely looked up from her book with a bored expression then looked back down "What a freak" Sakura mumbled.

"I suggest you not insult her when you are next to me" Sasuke growled.

"Ahh sorry Sasuke I didn't mean it!" Sakura yelled, fearing that the love of her life would begin hating her.

"Of course you did Sakura!" Naruto yelled from his seat in front of Sasuke, he screamed when Sakura slapped him on the head "What was that for!?" he screamed.

"YOU'RE BEING AN IDIOT!" Sakura screamed

"Why does she never shut up?" Mieko muttered to Sasuke who smirked.

"Don't be so loud forehead" Ino mumbled, though it was loud enough for Sakura to hear.

"Shut up Ino pig!" Sakura snapped angrily, she hated the blonde as she was another rival.

"Alright be quiet so we can begin" Iruka sensei called from the front of the class after he walked in "Open your books and finish the questions we started yesterday" the class nodded and did as was told.

Halfway through the class, Sakura noticed Mieko reading a book and not doing the questions, a devious idea crossed her mind. Now everyone will see that she isn't cut out to be a ninja! "Mieko you're supposed to be doing the questions" the little tigress did the same as last time, she looked up from her book in a bored manner then returned to it "Iruka Sensei! Mieko isn't doing the questions!" Sakura yelled, smirking on the inside, the entire class stopped working and looked at the trio.

"Don't be a tattletale Sakura!" Naruto yelled out defensively.

"Mieko you are supposed to be doing the questions as I asked" Iruka sighed, knowing her answer would further annoy the pink haired student.

"Sensei, I finished the questions the night before and my papa has already taught me this" she opened her book and gave him the questions when he walked up to her.

"Huh, it seems you did, perhaps Sakura should check before trying to get her peers in trouble" Sakura was steaming with anger, Sasuke was merely smirking and Naruto was staring dreamily at Mieko "Alright, return to the questions" with that the class went silent.

"Did you steal another one of your dad's books?" Sasuke asked as they sat on the roof of the school. They didn't get to sit with the other kids as they had to hide from the girls who would chase Sasuke around.

"Yes, the man who writes these books are really imaginative" she replied with a smile. Her papa liked to read Icha Icha Paradise by the legendary Sannin Jiraiya.

"Your dad will kill you if he finds you reading that…isn't it porn?"

"Its technically called smut but yes…its porn with words" she giggled "it has a really good story though."

"Of course it does" Sasuke shook head "we should probably head back to class."

Mieko placed her book in her satchel and stood up from her perch. "Well, we better hurry then" Sasuke nodded and silently followed her back.

Mieko was walking home with Naruto as Sasuke was running around town so he could get away from the fangirls like usual "So, do you think I can pass the test?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Mieko thought for a moment before answering "Yes I think you will pass with flying colours" Naruto gave her a soft smile.

"Thanks, Mieko, that makes me feel way better" Mieko nodded and faced the front.

"Well that is what I do, make people feel better" Naruto snorted happily.

"Except for Sakura" now it was Mieko turn to snort "What you know it's true."

"I'm not denying it" she replied as they turned the corner.

"Why do you ignore her, you act like she doesn't exist."

Mieko sighed, not wanting to explain "She allows her emotions to rule her when in a fight, her obsession with Sasuke will one day put everyone in danger and I ignore people who will eventually get people hurt or even killed" Naruto frowned "Why are you frowning" she smirked "Angry that I offended your crush" she teased.

Naruto blushed and began waving his arms around like a maniac "What!? No I don't like Sakura!" he yelled with a heavy blush, if only she knew who he really liked "Besides…everyone says I don't take my training seriously so why do you talk to me" Mieko stopped and looked at him with a frown, she grabbed his arm and looked at him intensely.

"Naruto, you do take your training seriously. You may not study but you practice every day, you have dreams like I do so why would I ever ignore you" she then smiled "Plus I don't think I could ignore my energetic friend."

"Thank Mieko" she nodded and continued to walk "So what are your dreams?"

"I want to become stronger so I can protect everyone I care about…I also want to marry a man and have lots of babies!" she giggled at his blush.

He thought about what she said and shouted, "But I want to be the one to protect you!" Naruto shouted determinedly.

She laughed loudly "Naruto I'm not some damsel in distress, I am a ninja as well."

"Yeah but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop protecting you, it just means that I won't have to protect you all the time" he defended.

"Alright, I suppose I will allow you to protect me but you can't get in my way when I am fighting."

"Never! Only if you're hurt or about to die."

"Ok deal" Naruto nodded and continued walking to their apartments with a huge smile.


	4. My baby is now a Genin

For the past two weeks, everyone had been studying in their own way for the final test to become a Genin, Sasuke and Mieko were studying for both the physical side and the theory side relentlessly. Sakura was studying on her own though reluctantly because she wanted to study with Sasuke and Naruto was of course not studying and merely practicing all the forms he had learned in the academy, his excuse was that he did not need to know the theory side because he would need more time to practice his skills. And Ino was practicing with her dad day and night.

On the day, each student was called upon by alphabetical order, Sakura had come out of her test boasting how she completed it flawlessly to Sasuke, of course, he merely hummed and waited for his turn. He too had past but did not boast, he stated he completed the test and that was it. Mieko had passed just as flawlessly as Sasuke and immediately returned to reading her book, ignoring Sakura who continued to talk to Sasuke. Naruto had come out of his test with a frown, he plonked down on his seat and remained silent but everyone knew that he did not pass. Mieko looked up from her book to her friend and frowned when he saw the frustration and hopelessness on his face.

"Well I'm heading out to Maritz for celebration, you want to join me Sasuke?" Sakura asked hopefully, her cheeks tinted pink.

"I'm busy" he stated and walked away, Sakura frowned but was glad when the others in their class offered to join. Once the group left Mieko silently followed Naruto, he stopped and sat down on the swing where they had first met.

Without a single thought, she stepped up to him with a smile "Hi"

"…Hey, Mieko" he replied dejectedly, the tigress frowned and knelt down to his eye level. Her tail curled around his arm comfortingly.

"How are you feeling?" she asked softly.

"Apart from not passing the test, sure I'm great" he threw his arms up to prove his point "So much for passing with flying colours."

"Naruto…" she bit her lip, thinking hard on what to say next "I'm…" she sighed and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him to her when he began to fall back "This doesn't mean you are never going to be a ninja, it just means you will have to wait a little longer" Naruto nodded silently and hugged her back tightly.

"Thanks…Mieko, you always know what to say."

"I'm always trying to make people happy" she smiled though he did not see it, his face was nuzzled into her neck. It felt wonderful for her to be in his arms, comforting him like he had done for her all those years ago, she had come to him a few days after the incident to apologize for not seeing him when she promised. He didn't really care and immediately accepted the apology, he watched as she began to tear up and as soon as he hugged her she broke apart. Her tears were never ending but he did not care, he would wait for thousands of years just so he could see her smile again. It took a while for her to smile genuinely but soon she was back to her old self "As much as I would love to stay here in the rain getting soaked I need to get home before papa freaks out" Naruto nodded and gently pushed her away "I'll come see you tomorrow ok?" he nodded once more "Goodnight Naruto."

"Night Mieko" he mumbled, she gave him a small smile before leaving.

Mieko was sitting in her room munching on a chocolate bar, wondering if Naruto had gone home after she did.

"Find Naruto!" the tigress jolted from her chair and ran to the window seeing multiple Shinobi's running around the hidden leaf village.

"What has Naruto done now" she hissed as she grabbed a black jacket, she opened her window and immediately began running around the village in search of her friend, she knew he would not go to areas where everyone would look, she would need to look for him in places that were hidden.

She searched high and low, going to every place that was deserted and void of ninja but there were no signs of the blonde haired boy "There's one more place" she thought, knowing that was the place she would go to practice things she wanted others not to know.

She jumped on a large tree branch in time to see Iruka sensei turn into a silver-haired man "How did you know it was me and not Iruka?" the silver-haired man hissed, Naruto puffed into a white smoke and came back as…Iruka?

"Because I'm Iruka" she narrowed her eyes at the state her sensei was in.

"You're a fool" the man hissed "Why are you protecting that freak? He's the one that wiped out your family!"

"I don't care what you say you're not getting your hands on that scroll" Iruka hissed out angrily.

The silver-haired man smirked evilly "As if you could stop me" he stated smugly "Don't you get it, Naruto is just like me" Mieko narrowed her eyes at the mention of her friend's name.

"How's that?" Iruka asked calmly.

"He wants the scroll for his own power and his own vengeance, that's how beasts are."

 **Own vengeance, why would Naruto get revenge on the town…is it because they ignored him'** she did not like this one bit, why would he call Naruto a beast?

"He'll pour all his rage into the scroll and destroy everything" the man stated.

"He's right" Mieko's eyes widened "That is how beasts are, but that's not who Naruto is, he's nothing like that, Naruto is one of a kind, works hard and puts his whole heart into it…sure he messes up sometimes and everyone jumps on him but his suffering only makes him stronger, that's what separates him from being a beast so you're wrong he's nothing like the nine tailed fox" Mieko's voice hitched in her throat.

 **Naruto has…the nine tailed fox within him'** was this why everyone ignored him, why did she not know of this…poor Naruto, he didn't deserve to be treated like the beast that was in him.

"He's Naruto Uzumaki of the village hidden in the leaves" she was proud of Iruka sensei for sticking up for Naruto, despite what the nine tails did.

"Huh, you really believe that dribble" the man snapped "Iruka, I was going to save you for later but I change my mind" the man pulled out a giant ninja star and began twirling it "You are finished!" Mieko was prepared to jump to save her sensei but something or someone stopped her. It was Naruto, he came out of nowhere and knocked the silver-haired man into his back, his star flying away from him.

"Naruto!" Iruka yelled in shock.

"Not bad" the man spoke and he stood "For a punk."

Naruto stood still in a pose that radiated strength and anger, the large scroll in one hand and the other hand fisted tightly "If you ever lay a hand on my sensei, I'll kill you" Mieko was surprised at the words that came out of Naruto's mouth, he's never said such dark words.

"Such big words, I can completely destroy you with a single move," the man said smugly.

"Take your best shot fool" Naruto moved his hands towards his face in a cross-like position, the air around him began to move rapidly along with the power growing inside of him "I'll give it back to you a thousandfold."

"LET'S SEE YOU TRY! SHOW ME WHAT YOU CAN DO NINE TAILED FOX!" the man screamed angrily.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" both Iruka and Mieko watched in shock as over a thousand copies of Naruto surrounded the man, they were not illusions but fully fleshed and as real as the real Naruto himself. Mieko had never felt so proud of her friend than at this very moment, she was glad she could watch him grow. The man looked around at the many clones frantically, his fear caused him to scream which in turn made all the Naruto's take turns in beating him up, Mieko had to hold a hand over her mouth as she watched this. "Sorry I kinda got carried away, you ok Iruka sensei?" Naruto asked once his clones were gone.

"Oh yeah," he replied softly "Naruto, come here a minute I have something I want to give you" Naruto looked at him cautiously, he closed his eyes and waited. Mieko smiled as she watched Iruka place the Genin headpiece around the blonde's forehead, she reached up to her head and touched her headpiece that she wore like Sakura did.

"Iruka sensei how much longer" Naruto whined.

"Ok, you can open your eyes now" Naruto did as his teacher told him and slowly opened his eyes.

"Congratulation, you graduate" Iruka smiled "And I have a big surprise, we're going to celebrate by going out for ramen tonight" Naruto's lip quivered before he broke into a large smile and jumped on Iruka, Mieko decided it was time for her to make herself known, she jumped down from the tree and called out their names "Mieko? You were there the whole time."

"Yep, and I am sooo proud of both of you!" she smiled sweetly, Naruto jumped up and ran over to his friend, she met him halfway and allowed him to tackle her to the ground in a bear hug "Naruto!"

"I graduated!" he cheered.

"I know!" she giggled and hugged him back.

"You have to join us for ramen tonight."

"I will if Iruka sensei wants me there."

"Well, you are the only friend Naruto has so it would be wrong of me to deny you the right to celebrate with him."

"Then I will definitely be there" Naruto jumped up and helped his friend up as well.

"Then we can celebrate yours as well."

"Naruto it's all about you, not me."

"But you never celebrated yours so you are coming with me, believe it!" he brought his thumb up and smiled goofily.

"Ok ok I will now we better get that scroll back to the Hokage" Naruto nodded and soon enough the three of them were racing through the leaf village, ignoring all who watched them. It wasn't about the villagers, it was about them, the three friends they were as thick as thieves. Even closer now they have shared this experience.

The trio had laughed and talked for hours, all were celebrating their graduation. It was until the late hours of the night did Mieko enter her house "You…are late" Mieko squeaked and brought a kunai knife out of her pocket, she sighed when she saw it was her dad.

"Spirits papa you scared the hell out of me" she put her blade away and took off her jacket.

"I apologize but you didn't answer me" he stood from the couch and headed towards her.

"I was out celebrating with Naruto and Iruka sensei."

"As great as it is celebrating with friends it is way past your curfew" he scolded.

"I know but…I'm sure you heard about how Naruto took a scroll a scroll from the Hokage's office?" he nodded "I went after him and…why didn't you tell me about Naruto being the holder of the nine tailed fox."

"No one is allowed to speak about it…the Hokage decreed it illegal. Even if you are my daughter I could not tell you."

She frowned "all those people…bullying him, hating him, and all because he has something in him that was placed there" she shuffled over to her dad and hugged him tightly. "why do humans have to be so mean?"

"I don't know my little kitten, but so long as there are a few who have a kind heart then that is all that matters" she nodded into his stomach and hugged him tighter. "Now" he picked her up "you need to go to bed little one."

"ok papa" Mieko replied tiredly, with a big yawn she snuggled into Kakashi's chest and fell asleep.

"My little kitten…"

Mieko was running around Sasuke's house frantically, her fear escalated as she saw the numerous bodies of her clan members, no one was alive and she prayed that Sasuke was ok "Please be ok…" she repeated over and over like a mantra, she skidded to a halt when she saw where she stood all those years ago "N-no" she looked at Sasuke's dead body lying on the ground, his lifeless eyes staring into hers "NO!" she screamed and ran over to him, she pulled him into her arms and began sobbing uncontrollably .

"Mieko" the Hatake girl froze when she heard the voice she dreaded to hear.

"Itachi" she spoke with pure venom, but he could hear and see the fear the radiated from her.

"Little kitten" he spoke again, using the nickname Kakashi gave her.

"W-why" she stuttered, wanting to hear his answer desperately.

"Because" he took a step to her, her fear spiked with every step he took "Because my little kitten…you are a beast!" she screamed when Itachi pounced towards her.

"NO! NO NO NO NO NO!" Mieko jerked and began frantically screaming.

"MIEKO CALM DOWN!" Kakashi shouted when he ran into her room. He heard her scream and feared the worst. He grabbed her body and forced her to be pressed against his chest.

"Sasuke! Sasuke!" she yelled over and over, praying he was still alive.

"He's alive Mieko now calm down!" her screams died down to uncontrollable sobs like in her dream.

"I thought Sasuke was dead I thought…" her breath caught in her throat.

"…You were dreaming about that night weren't you" he muttered softly.

"Y-yes."

"You shouldn't dwell on the past kitten" he ordered.

"I can't help it, papa, those dreams never end, it's usually ok when I sleep with you but this time you werern't here and I couldn't handle it."

"It's ok Mieko, it was just a dream and he's still alive."

"I know…sorry for waking you" she sighed and nuzzled his chest, beginning to fall asleep once more.

"Don't worry…I would do anything for you" he muttered as he stroked her hair. He hated seeing his precious daughter suffering like this, to see death so young…she truly was turning out to be like him. He felt rage for what Itachi had done to Mieko, she had to suffer through night terrors almost every night, she always focused on training much like he did when he was young and he hated it. He never wanted her to join the Shinobi because she's too sweet for it, she couldn't even hurt a fly but now she would kill a human being without thinking or feeling it was wrong.

He shouldn't be thinking on this right now, they would be meeting their team tomorrow so he wanted to be ready and awake so with a sigh and a yawn he moved closer to Mieko who sighed at the contact and fell asleep.


	5. I surprised my baby

Mieko and Sasuke were the first to arrive at the academy, followed by Naruto who sat next to Sasuke and took a nap. As usual, Mieko was reading a book, only this time it was a fantasy book and not one of Kakashi's. Sasuke was sitting calmly with his hands clasped in front of his mouth as he waited patiently for Iruka sensei to arrive. Mieko sighed when she heard a commotion coming from the hallway, already knowing it was the Sasuke Fan club leaders "I made it in first billboard brow!" Ino teased smugly.

"Nu-uh, my toe was in the door at least ten inches before you" Sakura replied back in her condescending tone, she turned towards Naruto who had a nervous look on his face.

"Hey Sakura-" he yelped when he was pushed off his seat by said pinkette.

"Move" she snapped "Hey can I sit here Sasuke?" Sasuke was sitting in between Naruto and Mieko. Mieko was on the window side whilst Naruto was on the stairs side.

"No, I'm sitting there, I was here first" Ino pushed Sakura out of the way.

"No way, I was here way before you so I get to sit there" the rest of the Sasuke Fan club came over and began to fight. Mieko sighed, feeling irritated but also pity for Sasuke who wanted nothing more than to run. She did, however, raise an eyebrow when Naruto jumped up onto the male Uchiha's table and stared at him, the girls stopped to look at Naruto. Naruto, on the other hand, was observing Sasuke's features that were scrunched up in disgust. What did all the girls see in Sasuke, he had a bird hairstyle, his eyes were black and boring, his skin was pale and he was scrawnier than the blonde was. He hoped that Mieko didn't like him like all the other girls did, she probably likes happy guys who laughed and smiled.

The scene changed from being creepy to shocking when a boy caused Naruto to press his lips against Sasuke, the SUFC screamed and wailed when they saw this, that was Sasuke's first kiss. The two kissers immediately pulled away and began choking in disgust, they really wanted to vomit.

"Oh boy that is hilarious!" Mieko said whilst cackling madly, that was absolutely hilarious to the tigress.

"Stop laughing at me Mieko-wait what are you all glaring at me for?" Naruto looked up in fear as all the SUFC stared at him with fury.

"You're dead Uzumaki" Sakura hissed, her knuckles cracking to add to the intimidation. Mieko smiled instantly disappeared when the girls approached her friend, she immediately stood from her chair and stood in front of Naruto "Get back Mieko or you will get hurt too" Sakura threatened.

"There is three things wrong with your threat" Sakura looked at Mieko in shock, surprised that Mieko was even paying attention to her "One you would not and do not have the skill or power to lay even one finger on me" she narrowed her eyes "Two you would not be able to lay a hand on Naruto when I am here and three" she took a step forward so she was closer to Sakura "would you really go up against a beast like me?" Mieko's frown turned into a grin that bared her sharp fangs. She forced her eyes to slit like a cat does when they're angry. When her eyes are calm they are a normal black macula with a golden coloured iris.

The girls shivered and took a step back "Now I will sit next to Sasuke who will sit where I was" she turned around to help Naruto up, once that was done she turned back towards the girls "And besides, that wasn't Sasuke's first kiss" she grinned evilly when the girls began to scream with broken-heartedness, Naruto was glaring at Sasuke and the man in question was smirking in satisfaction about everyone knowing that wasn't his first kiss. They can decide who his first kiss truly was, as long as it wasn't Naruto.

"Alright class sit down so I can tell you all who your teams and Jounin will be" the SUFC reluctantly headed to their seats but still stared at Mieko with uncertainty, none wanted her on their team but the boys of the class sure did.

"Man what a drag" Shikamaru spoke as he waited for their sensei to continue "I don't understand what all the girls see in Sasuke."

"You wouldn't understand" Ino snapped "You're just jealous that's all."

"I'm not jealous, just confused" he replied calmly.

"I hope I'm not put on your team," she said smugly.

"Don't worry Shikamaru, I'm a girl and I don't even understand their obsession with him" Sasuke frowned but continued to listen "Like yeah sure he has looks but I would only find someone worthy of my love by looking at their personality and not their face" both Naruto and the Uchiha boy sighed in relief, one for the fact that she wasn't like the Sasuke Fan club and the other because he would have a chance with her.

"That would be one of the reasons why I would want to be on your team Mieko."

"I would like to be on your team too Shikamaru" she gave him a smile and looked back to the front.

"Alright on team 10 is Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi" Ino groaned and slammed her head on her table.

"Why Choji…why Shikamaru why!?'

"On team 7 is Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno" she began internally screaming with joy "Naruto Uzumaki" the screaming disappeared "And Mieko Hatake was added only today so you are the only four-membered team."

"Yeah, I get to work with Mieko!" Naruto yelled then remembered the other members "Uh sensei why does a great Shinobi like me have to work with a teme like Sasuke."

"I could ask the same thing dobe" Sasuke hissed. He would rather have a Jounin for himself that would not be shared with other people. He wanted the Jounin to focus on him and him alone. He supposed that it wasn't that bad because Mieko was part of his team but…Sakura? Naruto? Seriously? What did he do to deserve that?

"Well Naruto your scores were the worst whilst Sasuke's was the best males score" Iruka answered confusing the class.

"What do you mean by best males score?" Kiba Inuzuka asked.

"Well Mieko had the same score as Sasuke so she has the best female scores, we had to balance the scores with worst and good" Sakura mentally fumed.

"Why was she put on the team only today Sensei?" Kiba asked.

"Well she was originally supposed to graduate early but she declined it, we were hoping there were more to graduate but since that didn't happen she was put on team 7" Iruka replied, the rest of the class looked at Mieko in shock except for Naruto and Sasuke who already knew, sure Sasuke was jealous that she could graduate early just like you know who did but now it gave him the motivation to get stronger.

 **But that means that I had the worst scores!'** of course she knew she didn't have the worst scores of the entire class but she did have worse than Mieko, now how was she supposed to prove to Sasuke that they should be together!?

Once all the teams were prepared team seven waited for their Jounin "How long is our sensei going to take!" Sakura yelled in frustration.

"Just be patient" Sasuke replied, looking over Mieko's shoulder to see what she was reading, sighing when he noticed it was a romance novel "Why are you reading that Mieko?"

"I like the story," she said as she closed the book "the feeling of escaping to a fantasy land is like a stress relief for me."

"Naruto stop, we're going to get in trouble" Sakura scolded, although on the inside she was screaming in excitement.

"Don't worry, he will totally fall for this" he said as he placed the chalky eraser between the door and it's frame.

"He is a Jounin, he wouldn't fall for something so childish" Sasuke reminded in his smug voice.

"I think that because he is a Jounin he won't suspect us to play a prank on him" as if to prove her point a gloved hand pushed the door open and the eraser fell on the Jounin's head.

"I'm so sorry sensei!" Sakura yelled, but on the inside, she was laughing along with Naruto.

Mieko's eyes widened and a big smile stretched across her face "Papa!" she squealed as she jumped up and raced down to Kakashi who opened her arms and caught her as she jumped off the table "why didn't you tell me you were going to be my Jounin?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise," he said with a lazy smile. He placed his daughter down and scanned his other students. "My first impression of you guys are…I don't like you" they all deadpanned. Sakura whined when she heard that "Now why don't we head up to the roof so we can get to know each other better?" The group nodded and did as they were told, once they arrived they all sat down and looked at their Sensei "Now, how do we start this? Why don't we tell each other a little bit about ourselves" their sensei offered.

"Like what?" Sakura asked.

"You know, the usual, your likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, hobbies, things like that."

"Why don't you start first?" Naruto stated.

"Huh? Very well, my name is Kakashi Hatake, there are things I like and things I don't…I have many dreams for the future and hobbies? Hmm well, I have lots of hobbies" they all deadpanned.

"That told us nothing" Naruto mumbled.

"Well that's me, now it's your turn" he looked over to Naruto "The blonde should go first."

"Me? My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I like instant ramen in a cup, I like it when Iruka sensei treats me to Ichiraku's ramen and when Mieko hangs out with me! I hate it when it takes three minutes for ramen to cook!"

 **he sure likes ramen'** Kakashi thought dully.

"My dream is to one day be a better Hokage than Sarutobi then the village will acknowledge my existence! My hobbies are playing pranks I guess" Kakashi nodded and looked at the pink girl.

"Ahh, my name is Sakura Haruno…what I like is *giggle*…my hobbies are *more giggling* dream for the future is *loud squeal*" every time she spoke she looked over at the oblivious Sasuke and blushed.

"And what do you hate?" Kakashi asked

"Naruto and Mieko!" she screamed, Naruto had tears whilst Mieko sighed. Whilst Naruto had a crush on Mieko, he had one on Sakura as well

"I'm in so much pain" she replied sarcastically.

"Well since you spoke up why don't you go next" Mieko nodded.

"My name is Mieko Hatake, our Jounin is my papa, umm... I like to read pretty much any book I can get my hands on and I like to hang out with Naruto and Sasuke. I don't like people who are blinded by love because they will one day hurt their teammates" she looked at Sakura "My hobbies are reading books and sketching and my dreams for the future is to become stronger so that I can protect everyone who I care about..."

Kakashi smiled at his daughters words "That's nice, now the last person."

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha, I hate a lot of things and don't particularly like anything" Sakura frowned "I don't have dreams because I will make them a reality."

"And they are?"

"I will restore the Uchiha clan and kill a certain someone so Mieko and I can live in peace" he replied determinedly, Mieko smiled and poked him in the cheek. He merely gave a small, almost non-existent smile.

"Well now that we know each other, what is our first mission Kakashi sensei!?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"It's not so much a mission and more like a survival exercise."

"But we already did that at the academy" Sakura whined.

"It is to test your strength."

"What! What is it!?" Naruto asked.

"If I tell you then you will be upset."

"Just tell us already," Mieko asked, feeling irritated and impatient.

"Fine, of the 27 graduates who came to the academy only nine will be accepted as Genin, the other 18 will be weeded out and sent back to the academy, in other words this is a make it or break it pass/ fail test, the chance that you will fail is at least 66 per cent" they all looked at him differently, Naruto looked at him in shock, Sakura had a deadpanned look, Sasuke remained the same and Mieko whistled "see didn't I tell you, you wouldn't like it."

"That's crazy, we worked hard to get here believe it! What was that graduation test for anyway!" Naruto yelled angrily.

"Oh that, that was just a test to select a few who might become a Genin, or not" Kakashi replied calmly.

"WHAAAATTT!"

"That's how it is, I decide whether you pass or fail, be in the designated training area at 5 am and bring your ninja gear."

 **grrr! I have to pass this test, people are gonna look up to me someday! Believe it!'** Naruto screamed inside his head.

' **If I fail I will be separated from Sasuke, this is a quest for love'** Sakura proclaimed.

Mieko looked over at Sasuke's clenched hands with narrowed eyes ' **I have to help Sasuke so he can accomplish his dreams-Naruto too'** she then looked over at Sakura who was dreamily looking at Sasuke and scoffed, she has a stupid dream **'the both of them have goals that they want to achieve with all their hearts'** she sighed and looked at their Sensei.

"Well that's it, you're all dismissed" he raised a hand and turned back to look at his students "Oh, also, you shouldn't eat breakfast tomorrow or else you'll puke" they all looked at their sensei in shock, he merely smirked and flashed away.

Mieko sighed loudly and stretched as she stood "Well I'm going to be stuffing my face tonight, anyone wanna eat all the food Ichiraku has?"

"I do!" Naruto jumped up and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to eat out tonight," Sasuke said and he plucked Naruto's arm off her shoulder, Mieko nodded and looked to Sakura.

"And what about you Sakura-chan?" the pinkette looked at her in shock "We're a team now so I'm going to be a lot nicer to you, so would you like to come and eat?"

"Uhh y-yeah sure!" Sakura smiled and jumped up, following the trio to Ichiraku's ramen **'yes, I'm finally going to eat with Sasuke, perhaps I can find what he likes so he can like me better! CHA!'** she cheered mentally, she only knew that Sasuke liked girls with long hair but now! Now she can find out other things, she could also ask Mieko what he likes as well. She didn't like Mieko because she was so close to Sasuke but she knew Mieko didn't find boys appealing so it will be a perfect plan to ask her about Sasuke.

They ate in silence for the first few minutes, just enjoying the taste and silence before Sakura spoke up "This is pretty good tasting food" Sakura complimented "of course I'm sure Sasuke has amazing cooking skills."

"When you live alone you have to learn to cook or you'll end up eating 2-minute noodles or take away every night" Sasuke replied, which was the most he had ever really said to Sakura without having an insult thrown in.

"What about you Mieko? Does your family know how to cook" the pinkette asked, Mieko shrugged her shoulders.

"It's just papa and me, we know how to cook and take a turn in doing so" she looked at her food and began to eat silently.

"Well I'm going to stuff my face tonight so I won't be starving in the morning!" Naruto cheered as he stuffed his face. Once dinner was done Naruto had passed out at the table with a full belly, Sasuke said he was going to train a bit before tomorrow and so it was just Sakura and Mieko.

"So Mieko, do you like Sasuke?"

"You mean like a friend or more than that?"

"Like more than that?" she dreaded the answer but waited patiently.

Mieko stared at Sakura slightly, she wasn't about to tell the obsessive girl that she liked Sasuke more than a friend. She would have to play her cards right "I never really thought that about him that way before, actually I never thought about anyone in a romantic way in a long time, to be honest" she looked up at the ceiling.

"What type of relationship do you have with Sasuke?"

"Well we used to be merely childhood friends when we were younger but…after the massacre we got closer, we had to depend on each other for support when we would break down" she waved her hand over her face "besides I never learnt what feeling you get when you like someone so I could like Naruto and I wouldn't even realise it."

"Wow, you don't know those feelings at all?" Sakura asked in shock.

"No, I never really asked anyone. Papa doesn't like to talk about relationship stuff."

"I could tell you" Sakura offered, praying that she liked Naruto and not Sasuke.

"Nah we can save that for another time" she turned to Sakura with a smirk "I want to know when you started liking Sasuke" information time.

"Well ahh I think it was when I first laid eyes on him, I thought it was love at first sight" she sighed at the memory "I just wished I knew what he liked so then I could get closer to him" all according to plan.

"I could tell you if you would like?" Mieko offered, she wasn't really but if it placated Sakura than she would tell her enough.

"You don't have to do that?" the pinkette cried in mock surprise.

"It's alright, let me see" the tigress tapped her chin in thought "He liked girls with long hair from what i've heard. He likes dedication to training and becoming stronger hmmm…I heard he likes people who are calm and won't freak out, that's why he doesn't like Naruto very well."

"Wow, he doesn't like much does he?" that wasn't a lot of information to go on.

"Well he doesn't really have hobbies besides practicing or sketching like myself, sometimes we go out and sketch whatever we feel like."

"What type of guy do you like Mieko?" she was curious to see what Mieko liked in a guy.

"Me? Huh, I never thought of it, I suppose I like a guy who can be calm in dire situations."

"I don't mean fighting I just meant the personality of a guy."

"Oh oh, I like a guy who wouldn't change who he is for a girl, he could be stoic and angry but just as long as he cared for me and treated me kindly would mean the world for me. I want a guy who…who would cherish me and protect me when I am down" she chuckled before continuing "I would want a guy who would act on his feelings, like you know press me against the wall and kiss me passionately so I could feel his feelings through his touch."

"W-wow that's a bit steamy" she was blushing but she too would want that to happen but only by Sasuke "Thanks, Mieko for the talk" she then faked yawned "Anyway I think I should go and head home, don't want to be tired for tomorrow."

"Alright have a good night" Mieko immediately pulled out a book.

"Yeah I'll wake up Naruto and we can leave" Sakura slapped the back of the blobde haired boys head and dragged him home after he hugged hugged Mieko goodbye, soon after Sasuke came back from practicing and headed over to Mieko.

"Hey, Sasuke how was training? That was pretty short."

"It would have been longer but I felt a bit nauseous as I just ate" he replied as he plonked down on the chair beside her and rested his head on her shoulder, she chuckled and began softly stroking his hair "That's nice, keep doing that" he ordered.

"Yes sir" she continued to read her book as she absentmindedly stroked his hair, Sasuke had his eyes closed as he remembered the conversation he heard between Sakura and Mieko. He realized that the qualities that she spoke of were a lot like him but she did not realize that at least now he knew how to win Mieko's favor, especially since he knew that she was a perv. He would need to up his game and be a bit more…confident. And besides, the Uchiha men are always good at seducing a woman. Yes after the training tomorrow he would up the ante and win her hand.


	6. My baby is growing up

The quartet were waiting for their sensei to arrive at the training area and just like the last first time they had met, he was incredibly late. 3 hours and counting to be exact. "Our sensei is late again!" Naruto yelled in anger, he wanted to be a ninja now and not when he's 80.

"If you do something to occupy your time than it wouldn't seem so long!" Sakura yelled back in her annoyingly loud voice.

"So that was why you were drawing" Naruto commented, realisation flashing in his blue orbs.

"Yeah I love drawing" she looked over to Sasuke with a smug and love-struck expression "Do you love to draw Sasuke?"

"…sure" he replied slowly, not really knowing what to say to the strange girl. Feeling curious, Naruto went over to look at her picture

"Hey, that looks….uh…great!Yah great!" He knew that it was Sasuke by the spiky hair but…all the other parts just made the picture look deformed "Ow!" he yelled when Sakura punched him.

"Don't diss my picture!" she screamed and pressed her book to her chest.

"But I didn't!" he explained.

"You were thinking it!" she yelled.

"It was…a good start" Mieko offered, earning a glare from the pinkette.

"Oh yeah, let's see your drawing."

"What drawing?" she asked innocently, she didn't show anyone her drawing, not even Sasuke but he saw them anyway.

"Don't lie to me, show us the drawing you just finished" Mieko sighed and showed her picture to the group, it was a simple picture of a rose but it was heavily detailed, you could see the crinkles and the many layers of the petals. The shading was exquisite to the point that it was looked as though it was laying on the paper and not drawn on it. "…w-wow!" Sakura never knew Mieko was that good, she assumed she was mediocre and Sasuke was the better of the two.

"That is amazing Mieko!" Naruto looked at it with an awestruck expression.

"As always you do wonderful drawings" Sasuke commented with an impressed expression.

"I ahh t-thanks guys" Mieko said with pink tinted cheeks.

"So why did you draw a rose?" Naruto asked, hoping she was thinking of someone…hopefully him.

"Well roses are my favourite flowers, they were also my grandmother's" she looked at it with a fond smile "My papa told me that every day my grandfather would leave a single rose on my grandmother's table."

"Wow he must have loved your grandmother very much" Sakura spoke, sighing dreamily when she thought of Sasuke giving her a rose a day.

"Yeah he did, when I was little I used to want someone to give me a rose a day, I would always dreamed of-" she instantly stopped when she almost spoke the name that must not be spoken.

"Dream of what?" Naruto asked, really wanting to know her dream

"Ahh, it was nothing, just some silly little crush I had when I was little but not anymore" she waved it off as if it was nothing but Sasuke knew, he knew that she had a crush on Itachi when she was little. Jealousy overwhelmed him at that moment, he was determined to make her forget that silly little crush of hers.

"Morning everyone, ready for your first day?" Kakashi decided he would finally show up.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura and Naruto yelled angrily.

"Sorry, a cat crossed my path so I had to go around it" Mieko snorted in amusement, she shook her head and put her drawing book into the bag she had kept at the altar since she had no pockets large enough to carry it. Today she wore a white singlet and green pants with black combat boots over the top of them, she also wore fingerless black gloves so she could grab things easier, she also had her Leaf headband around her right thigh since she had her hair up today in a high ponytail. "Well…let's get started" Kakashi turned away from his students and over to the altar where he set down a clock and pressed the button "Here we go, its set for noon."

"Huh?" Naruto question.

"Your assignment is very simple" he raised two bells up "You just have to take these bells from me, that's all there is to it" he jingled the bells "If you can't get them by the timer rings then you go without lunch."

"Ahh" Naruto whined, Kakashi ignored him and pointed to three posts.

"You will be tied to these posts and you will watch as I eat my lunch in front of you" the quartet frowned, now they knew why he told them not to eat.

"Wait a minute, there's four of us so how come two are only three bells?" Sakura asked making Kakashi smile.

"Well that way only one of you will be tied to a post and ultimately disqualified for failing to complete the mission, that one goes back to the academy" Kakashi said as he turned to his daughter "unfortunately, Mieko is unable to participate as she has an unfair advantage of knowing my skills and abilities."

Mieko whined "but papa, how will I make sure I don't get sent back to the academy?!"

"You will be able to don't worry, I will explain later" he then smirked "You can use any weapon including shuriken, if you're not prepared to kill me then you won't be able to take the bells" Mieko smirked, they wouldn't be able to defeat her dad with how skilled he was. They could get the bells by working together but all three hate each other so that would never happen in a millions years

"Those weapons are too dangerous sensei!" Sakura said in shock.

"Especially since you couldn't even dodge that eraser" Naruto teased with a loud cackle.

"Class clowns are usually the weakest links so you can safely ignore them…lowest scores, losers" Those words seemed to wipe Naruto's happy exterior right off his face, now he was mad "When I say start you can begin" Naruto looked at his sensei with a mighty rage, he pulled out a kunai and ran towards him as fast as he could. The word loser was stuck in his mind in an endless loop, torturing him with memories. The others looked on in shock whilst Kakashi merely blocked his attack and brought the kunai to the back of Naruto's neck "Don't be in such a hurry, I didn't say start yet" Sakura and Sasuke were surprised with such speed "But you came at me with the intention of destroying me so, how should I say this… I'm actually starting to like you guys" Both Naruto and Mieko smiled at this "Get ready, aaaaaandd…start" all three Genin jumped away in different areas, all preparing to attack their sensei. Except for Mieko, she sat down far enough away from where Kakashi was so she could watch the fight and not get hurt.

The tigress watched as Naruto was the first to emerge. Of course, Kakashi immediately sensed him and moved out of the way "You and me right now let's go!" Naruto shouted determinedly.

"You know compared to the others, you're a little weird."

"Oh yeah, the only thing weird here is your haircut!" with that Naruto raced in to attack but stopped when he saw the silver-haired man put his hand in his pouch.

"Shinobi battle techniques part 1, taijutsu, the physical part" he slowly pulled out his hand to reveal a…book? Mieko squealed silently when she saw it was Make out Paradise, Naruto looked at the book and his sensei in shock "What are you waiting for, make your move."

"What…I mean…why are you reading that book?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Why, to find out what happens in the story of course" he did not look up from his book "Don't worry, with your weak attacks it won't really matter if I read or whatever" that seemed to make Naruto even angrier, which was exactly what Kakashi wanted.

"I'm going to crush you!" he attacked many times only for them all to fail "Huh?"

"Don't let your enemies get behind you all the time" Sakura gasped when she saw her sensei behind Naruto, she noticed the tiger hand sign and panicked.

"Naruto get out of their quick, he's going to destroy you!" she yelled, but it was too late.

"Leaf village secret finger Jutsu!" Naruto yelled but stopped when he felt fingers up his ass "A thousand years of death!" the blonde was shot into the sky and landed into the water, the other Genin looked disgusted

 **'** **what kind of Jutsu was that?'** Mieko asked **'papa is so lame'** she watched on with the fight and soon enough Kakashi had left Naruto in the field by himself. For a moment he was confused until he saw a glimmer shine out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey look, a bell!" he ran over and dived for the bell but was once again thwarted, a rope wrapped around his ankle and pulled him up the tree "Ahh…the bell…ugh come on!" he yelled and he tried to grab the bell.

"uuuh think before you use a Jutsu" Kakashi came up and grabbed the bell "Or else your opponent might use it against you" he stood up and put the bell back on his pants "Oh and also, if the bait is obvious, don't take it" Naruto began to flail "A ninja must see through deception."

"I GET IT!"

"I'm telling you this because you don't get it" he turned to face the blonde, "You think you get it which is not the same as actually getting it, get it?" Sasuke's eyes widened when he saw the perfect opportunity to strike, he pulled out his shuriken's and threw them with gusto "Won't you ever learn" Kakashi gasped along with the other three students when they pierced his body

"Ahh he just got blasted by Shuriken" he turned to Sasuke "are you out of your mind Sasuke you went too far! You'll make Mieko cry!" he stopped when he heard Mieko snort and saw their sensei turn into a log. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and took off, followed by Sakura. Mieko sighed and stood from the ground to help Naruto "Oh hey Mieko!"

"Need help?" she asked.

"Yeah that would be great!" she nodded and pulled out a kunai, throwing it and Naruto and watching as he fell to the floor. "Thanks, Mieko!"

"No problem, don't you think you should team up with Sakura and Sasuke to take papa down?" Mieko asked.

"I gotta beat him by myself! I have to prove that I am better than Sasuke to both you and Sakura!" she giggled but inwardly she sighed.

"That's ok Naruto, maybe next time" she gave him a wave and disappeared into the tree's to follow Sasuke knowing that Sakura wouldn't be far behind. The Hatake girl heard Sakura screamed and sped up her running. She snorted when she saw the raven under the ground with only his head showing and Sakura unconscious, but also noticed that Kakashi was nowhere in sight "Well, well, what do we have here?" Sasuke looked up in shock, he didn't want Mieko to see him in this predicament.

"Mieko!"

"I have the feeling that you got too arrogant and thought you could beat him."

"Shut up" he snapped, she raised her arms defensively.

"Don't worry, I merely came out of hiding to help you" he looked away.

"I don't need your help."

"Ok" she shook her head and sat down and waited, which did not take long as Sasuke soon spoke.

"Can you help me?" she smirked but nodded. Once she loosened the earth it gave Sasuke the opportunity to move his arms so he could get out "Thanks, let's go see how Sakura is" Mieko nodded and followed him.

Sakura slowly opened her eyes to see Sasuke, seeing that he was ok she jumped up and hugged him "Sasuke you're ok!" she squealed happily.

"Get off me!" he shouted and he tried to push her away, Mieko chuckled at his irritated expression "I've got to get a bell before lunch, that doesn't leave much time" Sasuke stated as he rose from the floor once Sakura let go of him.

"Sasuke, you're still trying to get one of those bells?" Sakura asked as she too rose from the floor.

Sasuke turned back to her "a while ago I touched one, next time, I'll get one" Sakura gasped in awe whilst Mieko stayed silent.

"That is really greeeaat, I can't believe you did that, you're amazing!" she complimented but inside she was freaking out "ah, its almost lunch, there's not really enough time left so maybe we should just give up and then try again next year" Mieko gasped quietly and took a step back when she saw Sasuke glare at the pinkette.

"I'm the only one…who can destroy that person" the wind began to blow "I will never let Mieko dirty her hands with that person's blood" Mieko looked at him sadly.

"What, who? You mean Sensei?" Sakura asked.

"That day…Mieko was crying in my arms and I was crying in hers" he spoke softly.

"When were you crying?" Sakura pressed.

"It was my-" he trailed off, never wanting to speak his name.

"What happened to you" Mieko huffed, this chick doesn't give up, does she?

"I am an avenger, that means I must be stronger than my prey" he clenched his fists "I need this training there is no time for setbacks."

"Sasuke-" Mieko started but was interrupted by the bell, signaling that it was now over.

Sasuke growled to himself "I wasted too much time" Sasuke hissed and walked away.

Sakura looked at him with sadness "Sasuke…"

"Don't over think it Sakura" the pinkette turned to Mieko "Its…difficult to talk about it" she sighed and rubbed at her face "Let's just head to the altar" Sakura nodded and left with the other female.

"Uh oh, stomachs growling huh" Kakashi stood before the quartet feeling unimpressed "That's too bad, oh, by the wa,y about this exercise I've decided I won't send any of you back to the academy" they all looked at him with both shock, happiness and confusion.

"Aha!" Naruto was happy.

"What I passed? All I did was faint and fall over" Sakura was confused "Do you get points for that" Kakashi inwardly groaned.

"Hmmm" Sasuke hummed but he was happy, Mieko looked at her other two team members who were cheering in excitement.

"Yes all three of you are being dropped from the program" the stopped cheering and looked at him once again in shock "permanently."

"Drop us from the program, that means we can never become ninjas!" Naruto began flailing his legs around "you said if we didn't get the bells we would be sent back to the academy! You can just change your mind why would you do that!"

"Because you don't think like ninja you think like little kids like brats" Sasuke growled and ran to attack his sensei.

"Sasuke!" Sakura yelled when Kakashi sat on her beloved "LET GO OF SASUKE YOU CANT STEP ON HIM LIKE HE"S SOME BUG!" she screamed.

"Don't scream at my papa like that Sakura!" Mieko said with a beastly growl. The pinkette gasped and stepped away from the tailed girl.

"You think it's all about you" Kakashi commented dryly "You don't know what it means to be a ninja, you think it's a game huh?" he looked up and stared at his other students who looked at him in shock and anger "Why did we put you on squads did you ever consider that question for one moment?"

"I-I don't know what you mean" Sakura question, earning a sigh from Mieko, she knew why.

"I mean you never realized what this exercise was all about, not even close."

"What's it about?" Naruto was confused, furthering Mieko's annoyance.

"It's what determines whether you pass or fail" Sakura looked at her sensei sheepishly

"But that…that's what I wanted to ask you about form the beginning" Kakashi sighed.

"Use your head, four people on a squad, why would you think we would do that?" he was irritated as well now.

"Ahhh, how were we supposed to know why you picked four people we didn't make the rules!" Naruto yelled that was Mieko's breaking point.

"It's so basic, teamwork!" they looked at her in shock whilst she just glared.

"Just working together is that what you mean?" Sakura asked in shock.

"Yes that's what I mean, Mieko knew that from the very beginning but it's too late now, if all four of you came at me you might have been able to take them," he said and looked down at the bells

"But why did you only have two bells?" Sakura asked, she was full of questions.

"I purposely pitted you against each other, that was why there were only two bells" they gasped "I wanted to see if you could overcome that and put the squad before yourselves like Mieko did but again a Genin should have a natural feel for teamwork but you three…it never even crossed you mind" he looked at the pinkette "Sakura, you obsessed about Sasuke who was gone while Naruto was in front of you and you wouldn't even lift a finger to help him" her shoulders slumped in sadness "Naruto, you do everything on your own, everything" He looked down at Sasuke and stepped on his head "And you Sasuke, you thought that the others were so far beneath you they were worthless, even Mieko who at the moment looks far stronger in my eyes than you" Sasuke looked away from his sensei and looked over at Mieko who clearly showed she was hurt by those words, did she really think he thought she was worthless? NEVER! "Arrogance, ninja missions are carried out in squads, of course, you need individual skills but teamwork is the most essential element, every Shinobi understand this. When an individual puts themselves over the squad this can lead to failure and death for example" he reached into his pouch and pulled out a Kunai "Sakura, kill Naruto now or Sasuke dies" he held the kunai to the Uchiha's neck.

Mieko gasped and pulled out a kunai, aiming it at Sakura "If you lay a hand on Sasuke or Naruto I will personally end you" she hissed, malice dripping from every word, Kakashi noticed this and smirked.

"That's what happens on a mission" he pulled the kunai away and saw Mieko do the same.

"Oh boy that was really scary" both Sakura and Naruto sighed in relief.

"An enemy takes a hostage and you have an impossible choice and someone ends up dead" he stood from Sasuke and walked over to the altar "On every mission your life is on the line" he stopped and looked down at the stone "Did you look at this stone? The names engraved on it" Sasuke stood and headed over to Mieko who looked away from him "…they are all ninjas who are honoured as heroes of our village" Kakashi's daughter frowned at the pain and sadness shining in her fathers eyes. He had told her about all the people who knew that were engraved on that stone. They were all heroes and wonderful people that meant the world to the elder Hatake. She wished he could have met them.

"That's it that's it that's it! Now I know, I decided I'm going to have my name engraved on that stone! I'm not going to live and die like some dog I'm gonna be a hero a hero!" Mieko looked at Naruto sadly, of course he wouldn't know.

"They are a special kind of hero," Kakashi said slowly.

"Huh, what kinda heroes are they? Come one tell us!" Naruto pressed, there was a moment of silence "Well well!?"

"They are all KIA."

"Oh, oh, that sounds really cool," Naruto said, Sakura frowned and looked at him.

"It means killed in action, they all died" Naruto's smiled instantly disappeared, he looked so dejected.

"This is a memorial stone, the names of my closest friends are engraved here" Mieko looked at her papa with sympathy, wanted to hug him but knowing it was inappropriate at this time "all right, I am going to give you one more chance, but I'm going to make it much harder on you" he turned around to face his students "You'll have three hours to get a bell, eat now to build up strength but…Naruto doesn't get any."

"WHY?!" the blonde screamed.

"It's your punishment for breaking the rules and trying to eat by yourself, and if anyone tried to feed him, that person will immediately fail" Naruto yelled "I make the rules, you follow them, got it?" with that Kakashi disappeared, the trio grabbed their food and dug in.

"This is no big deal, I can go without eating for days, for weeks believe it! This is no big deal" his grumbling stomach told them otherwise "…no…problem."

Sasuke groaned and brought his bento over to Naruto "here."

"What, no Sasuke, you can't do that, you know what the sensei said" Sakura began looking around frantically for any sign of their sensei.

"Kakashi is gone and we need to get those bells as a team, if Naruto's hungry he will be weak and ineffective, that hurts the team and jeopardizes the mission" Sakura looked at Sasuke before looking at here bento, she closed her eyes with a smile and held out her bento.

"Ok thanks" Naruto stated.

"Don't thank me just hurry up and eat."

"But isn't that your food."

"I'm on a diet - I mean I don't eat as much as Sasuke does so just take it!" Mieko watched with a smile as she continued to eat.

"I can't take it because I can't move my hands so you're going to have to feed me!" he flexed his hands.

"Hurry up, he could come back any minute" Sasuke ordered.

"ARRRRG! This is one time only I'm never doing this again is that clear!" she shouted and raised some rice.

"Clear as a bell Sakura" he smiled and began eating the rice she gave him, to be fed by a pretty girl was a dream come true.

"EEK!" Mieko squealed when an explosion happens right before her, she felt Sasuke grab her but she jerked away and glared at the dust, Sasuke huffed.

"YOU!" Kakashi appeared from the cloud with an anger filled stare "You broke the rules, I hope you're ready for the punishment" he did a series of hands signs and the clouds became black "Any last words?"

"But you said-" Naruto started nervously.

"Yes" Kakashi interrupted

"But you said there was four of us, that's what you said so that's why Sakura and…" he trailed off and looked at Sasuke who continued.

"Were all on this squad and we're all in this together."

"Yea that's right we gave Naruto our lunch because the four of us are one."

"If one of our teammates suffer than we all do!" Mieko shouted.

Kakashi stepped forwards menacingly "The four are you are one? That's your excuse?" he leaned forward and smiled "hmm, you pass" they stopped glaring and looked confused.

"Huh" they all replied together.

"You pass" he repeated.

"What did you mean, how did we pass?" Sakura asked.

"You're the first squad that ever succeeded, the others did exactly what I said and fell into every trap, they couldn't think for themselves" he stood back up "a ninja must see through deception, in the ninja world those who break the rules are scum, that's true but, those who abandoned their friends are worse than scum" he quoted, though no one would knew where he quoted that from.

"Uh, you know, he's uhh, he's kinda cool" Naruto had tears in his eyes.

"The exercise is over, everyone passes, squad 7 starts their first mission tomorrow" he pointed a thumb at them "let's go home" he turned and walked away with the others following behind, well except for Naruto who was still tied to the post.

"I knew they would do this, it happens every time! YOU FORGOT TO UNTIE MEEEEEE!" Mieko chuckled and headed back.

"You dumby, I wouldn't do that" she gave him a smile and cut the ropes.

"Thanks, Mieko" he grabbed her and hugged her "we are finally ninja!"

"Yes we are, why don't we get some ramen and head home" Naruto nodded and skipped after her as she walked away.


	7. My babies first mission

Mieko had spent the rest of the day at Naruto's apartment to celebrate their promotion to Genin, when dinner came around she decided to cook him ramen instead of going to Ichiraku's ramen which he greatly enjoyed. "I really enjoyed today Mieko," Naruto said happily as he traipsed beside her to his door.

"Me too, I still can't believe we're actually ninja," she said as she leaned against the front door once it was opened.

"Yeah but we have a long way to go yet, it's only the beginning."

She sighed happily "Yep and one day you'll be Hokage."

Naruto smiled "Yea and you'll be my right-hand lady!" he said as he stuck his thumb out "I mean ninja, yeah…ninja."

"Well technically when we are older I will be a lady so it makes sense I suppose" she shrugged and pushed herself to stand "Anyway I should head home, I promised Sasuke I would spend some time with him tonight, he'll get annoyed if I'm late" Naruto frowned.

"Why do you let him push you around?" he asked her softly.

"It makes him happy so I allow it, he isn't harmful or mean about it" she sighed "He's protective which I can understand…after everything that's happened to us I understand his reason for his behavior."

"I guess" Naruto looked away but an idea suddenly came to him "Well I should let you get home to mister stick up the ass" she giggled "But you gotta give me a hug first" she smiled but did as he asked.

"Make sure you get lots of rest for our mission tomorrow" he nodded against her neck, when she went to pull away he leaned in a kissed the corner of her mouth, not a proper kiss but a show of affection none the less. She blinked in surprise and looked at his embarrassed face.

"Have a goodnight Mieko!" he said as he quickly turned away and ran inside so he could hide his blush.

"Y-yeah…goodnight" she brought a hand up and gently touch the side of her lips, it wasn't a proper kiss but she hadn't been kissed in a long time, her first time was a boy she had a crush on when she was younger. His name was Asako, he used to be part of the Ninja academy but dropped out when it became too much for him. They used to be in a relationship but broke up when he left, they had a goodbye date at the park and shared their first kiss. The moment wasn't great as straight after they pulled apart and saw Kakashi standing above them menacingly, then the next day Sasuke punched him in the face. Her second kiss and last was with Sasuke "…goodnight…Naruto" she smiled to herself and headed to the Hatake household.

"Where have you been?" Sasuke asked as soon as she arrived at her door, he was sitting on the floor with a bored and irritated expression on his face. She guessed that Kakashi wasn't home.

"I celebrated with Naruto by cooking him ramen" he huffed and got up from the floor "You really shouldn't get angry all the time, I'm not going to stop being friends with Naruto just because you don't like him" she placed her hands on her hips and looked at him with a disapproving frown.

"I don't expect you to but like you I'm not going to start being with him just because you like him" he took a few steps towards the female so they were closer "You are going to come to my house and sleep with me tonight" he stated as if he knew she would do as he said.

"I did last night and the night before" she smirked "Is Sasuke getting nightmares" she teased, earning a scoff from the Uchiha.

"I should be asking you that same question" He shot back.

Mieko frowned "I didn't think you were going to bring that up" she mumbled and looked away.

"Whatever just get some clothes so we can head to my house" she sighed but nodded, she grabbed clothes to sleep in and for the next day. She wrote a quick note to Kakashi so he knew where she was and followed Sasuke to his house. They walked upstairs so they could dress. Once she was in simple shorts and singlet she headed into Sasuke room and looked at the boy in question, he was waiting on the bed wearing just shorts and nothing else, his stare fixated on her, he had never gone to bed with her without a shirt, the sight of his bare chest caused her to immediately blush at how well built he was for a 13-year-old, years of training had done him well "Are you going to stand there all night or are you coming to bed?" he teased, an irritating smirk on his usually stoic face.

"Whatever" she mocked his overused reply but did as was told, she didn't know how she felt when her body was pressed up against his bare chest "Why did you choose today to not wear a shirt to bed?"

"I normally don't wear a shirt, only when I go to sleep with you" he pulled her closer and nuzzled her head.

"And why have you decided suddenly not wear one?" she asked, trying her hardest not to blush like Sakura normally did, though that girl blushed when Sasuke stood next to her.

"I don't know, just felt like it" she felt him shrug, acting like it was no big deal "Now go to bed, I'm tired" he ordered softly, she nodded and closed her eyes. But of course, nothing was really going her way tonight, before she fell asleep she felt a pair of lips press against hers, not on the corner of her mouth like Naruto did but instead they were cover hers entirely. She stiffened but did nothing since he pulled away before she could relax or take action, instead she closed her eyes and tried to get herself to sleep, not noticing how Sasuke was smirking to himself victoriously.

"Sasuke, I'm at point B."

"Sakura, I'm at point C."

"Mieko, I'm a point D."

There was a pause "Naruto, I'm at point A believe it!"

Kakashi sighed "You're slow Naruto, ok squad seven" they all prepared themselves for orders "The target has moved, follow it!" the Genin immediately jumped into action, chasing after their target with speed and determination. This was their first mission, they had to succeed no matter the cost, even if they had to give up their very lives.

"Over there" Naruto whispered as he zeroed in on their target.

"What's your distance from the target?" Kakashi asked.

"Five metres, I'm ready just give the signal" Naruto replied as he kept his eyes trained on their target.

"I'm ready too," Sasuke said calmly, ready to spring into action if Naruto failed, which was a high possibility since Naruto failed at everything.

"So am I," Sakura said shortly after, she wanted this mission to be a success so Sasuke would be happy.

"Me too" Mieko spoke lastly, her knees bending so she could pounce towards her target, she had the best advantage seeing as she had advanced senses.

"Ok…NOW!" All four Genin pounced towards their target but it was Naruto who captured it.

"MEEEOOOWWWWW!" the target screamed and flailed in the blonde's arm, scratching and biting at any part of the boy it could reach

"Can you identify the right on the left ear?" Kakashi asked as he headed over to his squad, proud that they completed the mission in record time and without any problems or setbacks.

"Affirmative, I've got a positive ID" Sasuke replied as he walked up to Naruto and their target.

"Right, lost pet Tora captured, mission accomplished" Mieko sighed and grabbed Tora from Naruto's arms, the cat in question snuggled into her arms and purred in content, Mieko felt the vibrations and purred back.

"CAN'T WE GET A BETTER MISSION THAN THIS I HATE CATS!" everyone had to pull their mics out of their ears due to the large static they got from it.

"Goddammit, Naruto don't do that!" Sakura yelled angrily whilst glaring hatefully at the blonde ninja.

"Sorry Sakura" he replied as he rubbed his head in embarrassment, he hadn't meant to be that loud. Kakashi ordered the team to head to the Hokage's office so they could return Tora to her owner, or was it a he? It was dressed in feminine clothing but could be male for all they knew.

"Oooh my poor little Tora, mummy was so worried about her little fuzzy pigs, yeah" Madame Shijimi cooed as she smothered her cat, of course, no one could do anything since she was the wife of the Land of Fire's Daimyo.

Naruto cackled madly"Stupid cat that's what you get, the kitty deserves to be squashed-OW!" Naruto yelled when Mieko slapped him on the back of the head.

"No wonder he ran away" Sakura commented softly, she looked at the cat in sadness and pity as it was tortured by kindness

"Now then" The Hokage interrupted once Madame Shijimi left the building, they would no doubt be called for again to find the runaway cat "For squad sevens next mission we have many available tasks" he read from a small list laid out on his desk "Among them is babysitting the chief councillor's three year old, helping his wife to do the shopping, digging up potatoes and-"

"NOOO!" Naruto yelled as he crossed his arms over to make an 'X' sign, he hated the stupid kid missions the Hokage sent them on, they went to the academy to learn fighting skills not how to garden. "I wanna go on a real mission, something challenging and exciting not this little kids stuff! Come on old man!" he pleaded loudly with big, innocent eyes.

'He's got a point' Sasuke thought to himself begrudgingly.

'But he's such a pain' Sakura whined as though she heard Sasuke's thoughts and continued it for him, Mieko merely sighed at his antics and Kakashi just moped since he knew this was coming and would no doubt be punished for it.

"How dare you, you're just a brand new Genin with no experience! Like everyone else you start with small missions to develop your skills for yourself" Iruka yelled back, equally annoyed as Naruto was but for a different reason, he thought that when Naruto graduated he could escape the kids whining, he liked Naruto and cared for him but he could be such a pain.

"Are you serious? Babysitting is not a mission it's just a stupid-YAAAAH!" he landed on a floor with a bang when Kakashi hit him on the back of the head.

"Will you put a lid on it" Kakashi ordered sternly, when would Naruto learn to shut his mouth and respect his elders? Probably never.

"Naruto!" The Hokage yelled angrily "it seems you do not understand the tasks you have been given" Naruto stopped yelling to look at the Hokage "Listen, we are given many different kinds of request that come into our village every day, from babysitting to assassinations, these requests are carefully recorded, analysed then categorised from A.B.C.D, depending on their difficulty, we Ninja are also ranked by abilities, Hokage at the top, Jounin, Chunin and Genin at the bottom. From the highest level, we select the missions and assign them to ninja who have the appropriate skills and experience, and when they succeed we get a fee that supports our village and our work, since you are untried Genin just starting down the Shinobi path you are given D level assignments of course-Hmm?" the Hokage stopped when he noticed no one was paying attention to him, they were listening to Naruto as he talked about his favourite food.

"So I had this Ramen yesterday and I was thinking Miso Ramen today-"

"SILENCE!" the Hokage bellowed to team seven who jumped in surprise at the loud tone.

"Ah, you always lecture me like you're my grandfather or something but I'm not that little brat who used to pull pranks all the time, I'm a ninja now and I want a ninja mission" Naruto turned around and pouted to prove his point, though it rather did the opposite and made him look childish…well, more soon.

"Oh man, Naruto you really shouldn't be doing this" Mieko mumbled, seeing the angry glare from the Hokage.

Instead of being scolded, the Hokage chuckled deeply "Naruto wants to prove to us that he's not a brat but a former brat that wants to do a mission, so be it" Naruto stopped sulking to look at the Hokage in confusion "Since you are so determined, I'm going to give you a C ranked mission" the Hokage brought his hands up to his chin "You'll be bodyguards on a journey."

"Really!? Who, who are we guarding?" Naruto asked eagerly, a huge grin on his face "a princess or a big-wigged councillor!" The Hokage smirked in amusement.

"Don't be so impatient, I will bring him in now" he looked to the door and ordered loudly "Send in our visitor" The door was opened and an old man came in.

"What the – a group of little not nosed kids?" the man scoffed and skulled the rest of his drink "And you, the little one with the idiotic look on your face, you really expect me to believe you're really a ninja?" Mieko snorted and Naruto began laughing loudly.

"Who's the little one with the idiotic look on his face huh" Naruto stopped noticing that he was the smallest person, even Mieko was slightly taller which sucked since she was two months older than them all, the curse of shortness. When Naruto realised who the shortest was his face turned into one of rage "I'M GONNA DESTROY YOU!" he ran to attack the drunken man but was stopped by Kakashi.

"You can't attack the client Naruto it doesn't work that way" he scolded the Genin.

The man snorted, not intimidated by the little boy in the least "And what's with the cat girl, she likes cat a little too much" Mieko growled angrily and let her tail twitch wildly, the man blink in surprise but chose to remain silent "I am Tazuna, a master bridge builder and I must return to my country, I'm building a bridge there that will change our world and I'm expecting you to protect me, even if it costs you your lives" he said strongly, he acted like he was the Fire Daimyo himself.

"Well, let's get packed and head out I guess" Mieko shrugged and walked out of the room, not even sparring the man she was to protect a glance, he seemed like an arrogant bastard so she didn't have time for him, she already had to deal with Sasuke and Naruto's constant fighting, she didn't need an old man bringing her down.

The next day, Sasuke, Sakura, Mieko and Naruto were waiting for their Sensei Kakashi to arrive with Tazuna so they could begin their first real mission "Oh my god he is so late again!" Naruto screamed angrily as he plopped on the floor.

"Just be patient Naruto" Mieko said with her nose once again in another book "This will be a regular occurrence so you will have to be used to it, I've had to deal with it my entire life" she knew the real reason why he was late so it was no bother to her.

"I don't think I will ever be used to it" Sakura mumbled as she stood next to Sasuke where she thought she belonged.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late" Kakashi waved as he walked alongside Tazuna.

"So can we go now?" Sakura whined loudly, the sun was beating down on her and she longed for the shade of trees.

"Yes except for Mieko" he pulled out a scroll with the Hokage symbol on it "Mieko has a mission of her own" the other three stared at their partner in shock.

"Why is she getting a different mission!?" Naruto yelled feeling slightly jealous, why couldn't he get a solo mission.

"Well, give it here" Kakashi nodded and threw the scroll to the Hatake female who immediately unravelled it and began to read through it with the trio reading over her shoulder. It seems a tiger summon had broken the contract it made with a Konoha ninja by killing him then fleeing, it was wreaking havoc on anyone or thing it saw and no ninja was able to get close to it, it would run away before they could capture or kill it. The Hokage believed that her feline DNA would be able to help coerce the tiger to return to its home. The reason it was rated A was that it had crossed into Suna territory, she had to be careful on how to approach the mission lest she destroys the fragile treaty Konoha had with Suna.

"W-Wait her mission is an A rank mission!" Sakura screamed in shock, was a Genin even able to do such a high ranking mission.

"Is she even allowed go on this?" Sasuke asked feeling worried for his friend, he knew that her feline qualities could help her with the mission but if it did not work then she had to go against a ferocious tiger.

"Yes, her unique skills will help her to succeed better than a Chunin" Kakashi looked over to his daughter, he was incredibly worried about her going on this mission alone but was confident in her abilities, she would see it done and return to him in no time. "If you head off now then you can meet up with us at our destination" Mieko nodded before placing her suitcase into a sealing scroll "Be safe Mieko."

"I will sensei" she bowed to him.

"Say goodbye" she nodded and turned to her team members.

"I truly am sorry for not being able to travel with you."

"Nah its ok Mieko, it's an order by the Hokage so I'm ok with it" he wasn't about to tell her he was worried, he wanted to go with her! He could protect her!

"Thank you Naruto" she gave him a small smile in gratitude.

"I'm going to head over to Sensei" Sakura stated as she walked off, although on the inside she was raging 'Now I'm never going to get Sasuke's love!' She yelled to herself as she dragged Naruto away with her.

Once they left it was just Sasuke and Mieko "Sasuke I-" she didn't know how to tell the Uchiha boy that she would be fine "it's going to be an easy mission I see-" she was cut off when Sasuke grabbed her body and pulled her to his chest "S-Sasuke" she was shocked, he hated displaying affection in public.

"I don't care about how easy the mission will be, all I care about is that you come back to me alive and not in a body bag" Mieko smiled, knowing that was Sasuke's way of saying be safe.

"I will Sasuke" she stepped back and turned to leave but a pair of lips pressed against her, Sasuke's lips. They were as soft as she remembered, then again the last time she had felt them was years ago back when…well back when things were much simpler. She wasn't cognizant when he kissed her the night she slept beside him. Before she could respond his lips were gone from her own, she almost whined from the loss of contact. "Now you better hurry and get this done so you can come back" without another word he left with his team who began to leave the village. Mieko stood still, her hand came up to touch her lips where Sasuke and pressed his.

"Just great…that boy is so confusing!" she shook her head to clear her thoughts and ran off to where the scroll had said the beast was last seen, all thoughts of Sasuke had left her mind as it became completely focused on the task that was assigned to her. She jumped from tree to tree in search of the tiger, her ears twitched as she heard the loud pounded of pawed feet slamming against the sandy ground

"Well, well, well, they sent a little girl to kill me eh?" her eyes narrowed as she looked at the tiger, yes this matched the description of the beast she was to kill "I smell you, my dear, you look human yet you smell like one of my kind…how strange."

"Toraken, I have been asked to stop your rampage" she flicked her tail from behind her to show him her feline attributes.

The tiger's eyes widened slightly in surprise "a humanoid cat, or is it a feline-human I wonder. Tell me, do you honestly believe that just because you are part of the same species as me that I would listen to a freak like you? I am finally free from the slavery my kind has been forced into and I intend to do whatever I please."

Mieko sighed deeply, disappointed in the tiger's decision "then I am sorry but I must eliminate you, you are the summons of a Konoha ninja that has crossed into Suna lands. If Suna ninja realise who you had once belonged to then it could start a war, I must stop that immediately."

The tiger growled hatefully "I belong to no one!" the beast roared and charged forward, fully intending on turning the young girl to shreds. She was unfazed by this, however, a beast could never compare to the skill and power of a Kunoichi. She blocked or dodged almost every attack the tiger threw at her. A few managed to cut her deep and tear her shirt to shreds. Ignoring the pain and bleeding she jumped over the beast and used her kunai to lodge into his neck, he roared in pain and tried with all his might to throw the girl off but the knife was too deep "I…must…Live!" he let out a final roar before slumping to the ground.

Mieko stepped away from the beast, panting from exhaustion and pain. She didn't want to kill the tiger, she felt that she had a connection to the beast and was saddened by his loss but knew it was her responsibility. Though she felt upset on the inside she refused to show any emotion on the outside, a ninja must never allow their emotions to control them.

"Well, I see you have grown up to be a dangerous weapon" Mieko froze when she heard a voice that she hadn't heard in a long time, her pupils slitted angrily and a hiss escaped her "And you have grown up to be a fine young woman…Mieko."

"Itachi" she whispered harshly as she slowly turned around "It seems that its fate that we met here" her voice was devoid of all emotion.

"Yes, so it seems" Itachi hadn't seen the sweet girl so close for quite some time, he always watched her and Sasuke from afar. She was different now though that was certainly his fault, he felt guilty but knew it was for the best. It was better to be strong through tragedy than being completely oblivious to how dark the world could be.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded the older man, she wanted to see him again ever since that night, she wanted to know why he did what he did, how he could do that do the one person who he cared for more than anything in the world. Now that she was standing in front of him those question refused to leave her mouth.

"I happened to be passing by when I saw you fighting that tiger and thought that this was the perfect time to talk to you."

"And you honestly expect me to be happy to see you after what you had done" she growled when she saw him smirk.

"I know for a fact that you are, I also know for a fact that you do not hate me" as he spoke he slowly walked towards her until they were face to face

"How could you possibly know if I hate you or not?" she hissed angrily.

"Because if you hated me you wouldn't let me do this" without warning Itachi's arms wrapped around her. He hugged her for a few seconds before pulling away "See?" the 18-year-old looked at the 12-year-old with a pleased smile, that wasn't what he intended when he walked up to her but his instincts took over. She had become a beautiful young woman that any man would be proud of. He knew it was wrong as she was 6 years younger than him but he just couldn't control himself, he would not let that happen ever again. He could not let his emotions control him, he had a mission to complete.

"Ah…wha…you?" she could not form any words "Why in the world would you do that?"

"To prove a point."

"Bastard" she mumbled childishly whilst pouting.

"But it worked didn't it" she smiled slightly, even after everything she was not able to stay mad at him.

The two sat down and began a small conversation, Itachi had told her about what as much as he could about what he had done since he left Konoha though he left much out, like the terrorist organisation he joined and Mieko told him about her life since he left "I just recently graduated and papa was chosen to be my sensei."

"That's very lucky though you must be incredibly happy about that."

"Yes, he and I would be going out quite a lot and I would hate being separated from him for so long, at least now I don't have to worry."

"You have had an interesting life but tell me, when you killed that tiger…what went through your head?" he was worried about her, he watched the entire thing and not once did he see a hint of hesitation in her eyes or fear.

Mieko looked at him, devoid of all emotions "I felt nothing, I had a job to do and I did it the only way I could" she hissed when she felt a sting of the deep scratch she received across her chest "I forgot about my wounds" Itachi sighed and moved so he was in front of her "well aren't I a forgetful person but honestly I blame you."

"How is this my fault" Itachi tilted his head as he began healing her, he knew basic healing Ninjustu but not enough to completely heal the scratches, he could close them and stop the bleeding but it would take time to completely be healed.

"You distracted me" Mieko replied simply.

"Oh my apologies then" he teased "There it's done but it will still need time to heal"

"Eh I don't care, it will be one of many injuries I will have" she stood up but hissed when she felt pain.

"It will hurt for a while" he took off his undershirt and dumped it on her head "Your shirt is ripped so wear mine."

"Oh yeah thanks" she muttered when she realised that her shirt was barely covering her chest "I should head off now otherwise my team will get worried."

"Be safe" she smiled when he patted her head "We will see each other again although it will not be as friendly as it was this time."

"Yes, I suppose so" without another word she jumped into a tree and sped off towards the land of waves.

"You are absolutely perfect Mieko."


	8. My baby is off on her own

Mieko had arrived at the land of waves in record time, just in time to see Kakashi walk up a tree _'Wait why does he have crutches?'_ she wondered worriedly, something must have happened. She silently cursed that she was not there to protect her team, perhaps with her help her father wouldn't be so injured.

"Well you get the idea, focus your chakra towards the souls of your feet and use it to connect to the tree" Kakashi stated as he stood calmly upside down a tree "This is one way to apply the power of chakra."

"Wait a minute" Sakura interrupted "That's a nice trick but how does that help up fight Zabuza?" she thought this was a child's trick that could never work against the demon from the mist.

Mieko's eyes widened at the name Sakura mentioned _'Zabuza, does she mean Zabuza Momochi the demon of the hidden mist…I must have missed out on a lot.'_

"It's the only way to fight him Sakura, that's the entire goal of this training," Mieko thought that this would be the perfect time to make her presence known.

"First you'll learn to put a precise amount of chakra to a precise point on your body" all heads snapped to her "This is difficult even for advance ninja."

"Mieko you're back!" Naruto yelled happily as he raced to her and pulled her into a hug.

"Ah Naruto that really hurts" Mieko gasped out in pain as she pushed him away.

"Oh sorry!" Naruto jumped back and looked at her "Hey you're hurt!" he noticed the cut on her forehead, the various bruises on her skin and the bandage wrapped around her shoulder and chest "That is a really large shirt Mieko, where did you get it from?"

"Oh, someone healed me when I finished my mission but he wasn't that good at it so I'm stuck as a walking mummy" she scratched the back of her head when she noticed the glare Sasuke was giving the shirt, she really didn't want to tell him whose shirt it was…but she would have to when she turned around since the Uchiha symbol was on the back "you should probably listen to sensei now" she said in the hopes of moving the attention onto something else that wasn't her.

"Thank you Mieko and I'm glad you're back" Kakashi nodded, when he saw his daughter relief flooded over him, though he felt angered about the wounds she sustained he was grateful that she returned to him alive.

"You will have to tell me about your encounter with Zabuza."

"Of course" he turned back to his other students "Anyway, to continue what Mieko had said, this type of climbing requires a subtle mix of physical and spiritual energy and the bottom of the feet is the most difficult spot to focus chakra are you getting the picture? If you can master this then you can master any Jutsu…well theoretically."

"The second point is to maintain your chakra levels, when a ninja is focused in battle it's even harder to control and maintain his chakra levels which could lead to a mistake, to avoid this maintaining chakra must become second nature, effortless" Mieko stated as she crossed her arms.

"We could talk about this all day but it wouldn't help with your experience would it?" Kakashi turned back to Mieko "I am glad that you have remembered my lessons"

"I'm your daughter remember? I mastered this years ago."

"Oh yeah, then prove it," Sakura said smugly, thinking that Mieko would fail.

"If you think I will fail then you are horribly mistaken" she looked at the tree beside her and walked up to it effortlessly, she made sure the back was facing away from Sasuke so he wouldn't see the shirt "I had to do this or papa wouldn't teach me anything else."

"You couldn't learn anything without mastering chakra" Kakashi muttered before throwing three Kunai before his students feet "Use the Kunai knife to mark your tree at the highest point you can climb without using your hands, then try getting past that point the next time and the next, first you will need to run at the tree so your momentum can get you as high as possible, well, until you get used to it" he added to mock them "Ready?"

Naruto grabbed his kunai and got into a stance "I'm more than ready, this is gonna be no sweat, all the way, believe it!" the other two got into a stance after the blonde "Remember what you said sensei I'm the one who's grown the most."

"You're definitely the one who talks the most now get focused and do it" Kakashi ordered.

 _'Well, he did say that,'_ Naruto thought grumpily _'ok first I need to draw the chakra to the bottom of my feet'_ he did as told alongside the others, the moment they felt a power surge they sprang into action _'I got it! CHARGE!'_ each Genin ran up a different tree, Naruto didn't put enough chakra to his feet and so he fell off the tree and hit his head, Sasuke put too much chakra in the tree so he left a dent in it but Sakura…

"Hey this is fun!" she said from her spot in the tree, she was pretty high and was sitting on a branch whilst swinging her legs like a little girl on a swing.

"Well, it seems the females of this squad have the most chakra control, well done Sakura, Mieko why don't you go sit alongside her" the ravenette nodded and walk over to Sakura in a calmly matter, of course, she knew Kakashi did that so Sakura's ego would go down…which it did.

"Yeah, way to go Sakura I always knew you were awesome believe it! And you too Mieko you're amazing" Mieko giggled at Naruto's way of 'flirting', although on the inside Naruto was ticked off that they were better than him.

"Whatever" Sasuke grumbled as he looked away, once again Mieko giggled but at Sakura's expression.

"Sasuke don't be rude" he looked back up at Mieko "perhaps you could learn a thing or two from Sakura since she is clearly more superior at chakra control than you are" he tsked once more and looked away, knowing that she was right.

"Well not only do Sakura and Mieko understand chakra, they can control and maintain it as well" he looked at Naruto "We talked about someone becoming Hokage someday didn't we, seems Mieko has the best chance at that wouldn't you say?"

 _'NO MIEKO IS SUPPOSED TO BE MY RIGHT HAND LADY NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND!'_ Naruto yelled internally

"And as for the great Uchiha clan, maybe there are no great Uchiha's left."

"SHUT UP SENSEI YOU TALK TOO MUCH!"

"Take your own advice Sakura, don't scream at my papa" Mieko snapped, Sakura shivered at the annoyed tone she had.

 _'I preferred it when Mieko ignored me'_ Sakura whined internally, she looked at Mieko's clawed hands and imagine them slicing her up into little pieces.

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other with narrowed eyes, a competition already forming between them _'Alright, first I'll match Sasuke then I'm going all the way to the top believe it!'_ and they were off.

"Hey Mieko?"

"Yes Sakura?"

"Why does that shirt have an Uchiha symbol on the back" the tigress stiffened as she realised she had her back to Sakura.

"I met an old friend…that is all" she honestly didn't want to think of Itachi…seeing him made her remember the horrible massacre she faced. Sakura felt the dark aura come from Mieko and decided to not press her for answers, she didn't want Mieko to be angry with her again.

It was several hours of Mieko watching Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke climbing the tree without any progression, Sakura was spent and continued to watch the two boys still going and she smirked when she saw Naruto was doing worse than Sasuke _'heh Naruto isn't making any progress at all, knowing him any minute now he will give up and throw a tantrum'_ she was surprised when she saw Naruto come to her.

"Hey you're good at this, how about some advice" she was curious as to why he didn't go to Mieko since she was far better than her, though she would never admit it "But please don't tell Sasuke I asked please, please" of course Sasuke already knew what he was doing "or Mieko, she's so good at this that I don't want her to see that I'm horrible at it."

"Alright guys let's give it a rest for the day ok, we need to eat dinner or we will get weaker" Naruto and Sakura sighed in relief at having at a break, although Naruto and Sasuke would continue their training tomorrow. Sasuke was about to leave before he saw Mieko walk off, his eyes widened when he saw the Uchiha symbol on the back of the shirt she said was given to her.

"There is only one person in the world with a shirt that large who would wear an Uchiha symbol on the back…Itachi" he growled and stormed off after his feline team member, he stopped her by grabbing her shoulders and pinning her to a tree.

"Sasuke!?" she cried in shock, a sharp pain shot up her spine from her back colliding against the tree.

"You saw Itachi didn't you?" he snapped angrily at her "He was the one that saved you am I right?"

"I-I…yes" she looked away guiltily.

"And yet I bet you did nothing, that you talked to him like a normal person."

"You know I don't hate him Sasuke I never truly have" she looked back at him with wide eyes, he hasn't been this angry in a long time "What did you expect me to do, fight a man that is far stronger than I am?"

"You could have raced to me and I could have taken him down!" he snapped, he stepped away and looked at the ground "Take it off."

"What-" she looked at him with wide eyes, what in the world was he asking her to do?

"Take that disgusting shirt off before I rip it off of you" he ordered hatefully, he refused to let Itachi claim her and destroy her like he did so long ago.

"Fine" she snapped back and tore the shirt off to reveal her bandaged body and black bra, like Ino she had an already well-developed pair of breasts "Are you happy now?" she honestly did not care that she was vulnerable to Sasuke right now, her anger was stronger than her embarrassment.

"Good" he snapped back before taking off his shirt and throwing it at her "You can wear my shirt until you get back to Tazuna's house."

"The scroll containing my clothes was destroyed and so all of my belongings were destroyed along with it" Sasuke sighed.

"What exactly happened on your mission?"

"I met the tiger I was ordered to stop, he was the one that did this to me" she pointed to where her large wound was "I got payback though."

"Did you kill him?" she nodded.

"Yes I killed him and that would be when Itachi came" she felt him stiffen "he healed my wound but it still needs time to heal fully…we talked for a while before I left."

"You're leaving something out" he felt her hesitation in her last sentence.

"It doesn't really matter" she mumbled and looked away, further proving to him she was keeping something from him.

"Anything that concerns my brother matters to me Mieko" he hissed.

"Ok fine he hugged me and I let him, are you happy now!?" she growled out before turning away from him.

"….what," he asked in a deep tone, that vile bastard, how dare he try to seduce and defile Mieko. He will kill that man the next time he sees him.

"He.Hugged.me and I let him" she gritted out between her teeth.

"That bastard!"

"Why in the world would you care, you toy with me all the time…oh wait I guess this is possessiveness of your toy right, you don't want to share your things with your older brother" she laughed bitterly.

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"You heard me! You use me, play with my emotions and make me fall for you even more, every day and yet you don't even care!" she shouted "All you care about is getting revenge on your brother but every day you're destroying me and making me fall hurt more and more!" she had tears in her eyes now "Every day you make me forget about the love I had for Itachi! Do you not understand what is hap-" she was cut off by Sasuke's lips pressing against her like it had done the day before but this time she was allowed to kiss back. Her arms wrapped around his neck and his around her waist, arms tightened which allowed their bodies to press tighter against each other. A shiver shook her entire body when she felt his fingers play with her hips, oh she had wanted this for so long.

Sasuke was the first person to pull away "I would never use you, I can't believe you are so stupid that you would think that I didn't like you" he bonked her on the head "I've liked you since you joined the academy, don't ever tell anyone I said this but you are more important to me than revenge because you are the main reason as to why I want this revenge to succeed."

"What? Why?"

"He made you see the horrifying death of my family, he made you cry and every night you have nightmares, some more terrifying than the other and Kakashi and I are the ones who has to hear you whimper and scream in fear as you relive that horrible night and that is why I want revenge, I want you to have a peaceful sleep for once" there were no emotions in his voice but she knew that he was sincere.

"Sasuke…thank you" she rested her head on his chest and sighed, the coldness of his bare chest cooled her hot forehead "…we should head back before the others get worried."

"Yes, you are right" he took her head and began to walk, Mieko blushed but smiled none the less. She felt that the feeling of confusion had lessened substantially. Her life was finally beginning to brighten.


	9. My baby got hurt!

When Mieko and Sasuke arrived at Tazuna's house they got a mixture of various emotions from all the people inside, Sakura and Naruto were glaring at their conjoined hands, Kakashi merely looked enraged by the bare chested teen and his daughter who was now wearing Sasuke shirt and had tussled hair, he knew nothing happened but his thoughts could not stop the disgusting thoughts that crossed his mind. Tazuna and his family honestly didn't care. "Why in the hell is she wearing your shirt!" Naruto screamed at Sasuke.

"The other shirt was too big for me so Sasuke offered me his" Mieko defended innocently, she didn't want to share her moment with Sasuke with the others.

"Yeah, so why aren't you wearing your own?" Sakura growled in jealously, how dare Mieko wear Sasuke's shirt. She loved the sight of a bare chest but not the reason for it.

"Because my scroll was destroyed and my belonging along with it" She snapped angrily, Sakura and Naruto retreated "So am I able to borrow some of your clothing Sakura because I don't want to keep stealing Sasuke's" she knew that Sakura would say yes just because she didn't want Mieko wearing his clothes.

"Of course, just let me go get some" the pinkette took one last dreamy stare at Sasuke's bare chest before leaving.

"I knew that would work" Mieko giggled and took a seat beside Naruto "So you think you can climb to the top of the tree Naruto?"

"You better believe I will, I'll be better than Sasuke and even you!" the blonde boasted proudly.

"Dream on loser" Sasuke teased as he took his seat in front of Mieko "You can never hope to be better than me."

"I'll show you! I'll be better than you!"

"Shut up dweeb!" Sakura yelled as she bonked Naruto on the head "these are some clothes you can wear, there a little big on me but I was hoping I would grow into them" she brought the pile of clothes and dumped them on the table in front of Mieko.

"Thanks, Sakura I'll change into them after dinner."

"Can you do it now, I'm sick of seeing the broods bare chest" Naruto grumbled in a low voice. He saw Mieko looking at Sasuke out of the corner of her eye but showed no emotion, something she did when she was hiding a secret, something happened and he didn't like it.

"No they can both get changed after dinner I don't mind" Sakura spoke dreamily as she continued to stare at Sasuke's chest.

"I'm going to get changed now, I don't want to catch a cold" Sasuke muttered, feeling extremely creeped out by Sakura's constant stare, even worse when Mieko didn't even care that he was bare-chested, it was as if their moment together didn't even happen.

"Well please hurry dinner is almost ready" Tsunami called out sweetly.

"Hi, my name is Inari what's yours?" the small child asked as he followed Mieko upstairs, he loved that she had a tail and that her eyes glowed in the dark, it was so cool.

"My name is Mieko Hatake, what's yours?" she replied sweetly, he was such an adorable little boy.

"Inari Shinko. Are you the scary man's daughter?" he asked, his eyes glared back at Sasuke who was eavesdropping on the conversation.

"Yes, he's my father."

"Are you related to the mean boy?" he pointed to Sasuke who was now glaring at him.

"No, he's a good friend of mine."

"Oh…" he trailed off, hoping that the pretty girl wasn't too involved with the mean boy, he liked her "Well that's ok I suppose!"

"Yes I suppose it is" she chuckled softly and allowed Inari to show her where she could get changed.

* * *

The next day both Naruto and Sasuke continued their training or as it should be named, tree climbing whilst Sakura and Mieko watched over the construction of the bridge, it was a boring job but they had to watch in case Zabuza decided to attack again. Mieko had her ears, eyes and nose on high alert so she could be aware of everything that passed through, whether it be a small animal or a person she would know it didn't matter, she would find out. Sakura was yawning whilst Mieko sat beside her, reading a book and ignoring Sakura all together "You always this lazy" Tazuna drawled as he walked over to the two girls with a large steel bar over his shoulder "Where's that weird blonde kid and the one with the attitude?"

"Their training" replied Sakura "climbing trees."

"Too tough for you?" Tazuna teased the two girls.

"No, in fact, I'm the best, that's why sensei sent me here to guard you" the pink haired ninja in training puffed her chest out proudly.

Tazuna stopped to look at her "You're joking" Sakura narrowed her eyes and growled.

"Yes she is, I had done this training years before therefore making me the best" Mieko replied but did not take her eyes away from her book, she wasn't boasting, she was just stating the facts.

"WHAT THE HELL MIEKO!" Sakura screamed, Mieko merely did what she used to do in school, look up from her book and stare at Sakura with a blank expression before continuing to read _'what! She's ignoring me again! Now how am I going to get Sasuke to like me if Mieko doesn't acknowledge me! Sasuke doesn't like anyone who Mieko doesn't like so if she doesn't like me…AAAAHHHHH THAT MEANS SASUKE DOESN'T LIKE ME! I'm going to have to change that CHA!'_

"Uh hey Tazuna I need to talk to you," a man said, stopping before Tazuna with a stern expression, Mieko stopped reading her book to watch the exchange with calculating eyes.

"Eh? What about?" Tazuna replied cautiously.

"Ahh the thing is, I've been thinking a lot about the bridge and I've decided, I've pushed my luck far enough I want out" Tazuna's eyes widened before narrowing in anger at the man's confession.

"Now you're going to quit on me just like that!" he yelled with a mighty rage "You're kidding!?"

"You know, I stayed on because of our friendship" the man tried to reason, but instead he looked to the floor in shame "But I'm putting my life on the line every day I stay here, Gato and his thugs will show up eventually, when they do they'll kill you and the bridge won't be finished anyway" he looked back up at Tazuna "It's a lost cause Tazuna, why don't we stop now so we can get out of this alive" the two teenaged girls looked at the exchange, one with shock and the other with a blank expression that Sasuke normally wore.

"Not a chance" Tazuna finally spoke, his voice full of determination "This is our bridge, our island is poor and it will stay that way until this bridge connects us to the mainland, comers, trade and hope that's what we're building here."

"There's not going to be much hope if we're all dead" the man shot back, Tazuna merely stared at him for a few fleeting moments before walking past him.

"It's already noon, let's break for lunch."

"Tazuna, let's not end it like this-"

"Save your breath" Tazuna interrupted "Oh and this, don't bother coming back after lunch" he walked away without another word.

"Hmm, this bridge means a lot to Tazuna" Mieko concluded softly.

"Huh?" Sakura looked over to Mieko who still wore that calculating look she got from her father "Why do you say that, of course he does."

"Perhaps it would be nice of us if we helped out, we are strong enough so I am sure we could be of some use" Mieko stood from her sitting position "Let us head off to lunch, I am sure that Tsunami has prepared a great dinner for us."

"Oh ok" Sakura commented and followed the Hatake female, all the while agreeing with her on helping Tazuna.

"Umm, where are we going?" Sakura asked beside Tazuna and Mieko, the bridge builders had stopped working and headed into town to have lunch.

"You wanna eat tonight don't you?" Tazuna asked "I gotta pick up some things for dinner" Sakura nodded and let her eyes wander over all the people who surrounded her, many people, both children and adults lied in the streets covered in dirt and as thin as a twig, their stomachs rumbled from the food they longed to have but could never eat.

 _'_ _What's wrong with these people?'_ she thought sadly.

 _'_ _I hate seeing such misfortune happen to people so young,'_ thought Mieko, her eyes lingering on two children who were huddled together, her thoughts were swarming with the famine that these people were suffering, she was now more determined than ever to help Tazuna build the bridge so these people could live as they should.

"Ah, here we are" Mieko broke out of her thoughts when Tazuna spoke.

"Welcome" the man from the counter spoke, his voice croaky and hoarse, Mieko and Sakura looked at all the limited food the man had in his store, both with deep frowns, this truly was a devastating sight to see. Sakura's thoughts had her sorely focused on them that she did not see the creepy man reaching for her.

"You pervert!" Mieko screamed and kicked the man straight in the face "Don't touch Sakura that way!" she hissed at the man holding his face, her tail had puffed up and strangely enough so did her hair, she had kept it down so it became incredibly fuzzed due to her irritation.

"No, I was-" the man yelled but with his face broken from the impact and the blood flowing from his mouth and nose he couldn't speak very well, Tazuna quickly gathered and paid for the food they needed and hurried out.

"Wow, you really surprised me back there, not many women fight like that around here. And that hissing you can do is really intimidating, can you growl as well?" the feline woman nodded.

"I was merely making sure that pervert didn't touch Sakura" Mieko commented with a shrug.

"That was amazing!" Sakura had stars in her eyes as she stared at Mieko in awe "But they really should know how to fight, there is seriously something wrong here" A hand reached out but this time it grabbed Mieko and not Sakura.

"Hey watch it-" Mieko went to yell but stopped when she looked at the little boy standing behind her, he reached for both her hands out and smiled at her. He was scruffy and covered with dirt and so thin that she could see his skin just barely stretching over his bones. It nearly broke her heart to watch the famine taking its toll on innocents like the little boy looking pleadingly into her eyes.

"Please?" he said brightly, Mieko being the week willed person she was when it came to children and animals, reached into Sakura's pouch and grabbed all the candy she had.

"Here" she spoke softly and dropped the candy into the boy's hands with a sweet smile.

The cute boy giggled "Thank you pretty lady" he gave her the biggest smile he could and ran off.

"Wow…" Sakura whispered, feeling moved by Mieko's kindness but sadden by the boy's condition.

"Has it always been like this Mr Tazuna?" Mieko asked the Master bridge builder who frowned at her question.

"No, this is how it became when Gato arrived" said Tazuna grimly, watching as Sakura wiped the tears from her eyes "Children suffer and the adults are too afraid to stand up to him" Mieko's eyes hardened "They've lost all hope, that's why we have to finish the bridge, it will bring commerce and trade but more importantly that bridge is a symbol of courage, we must restore the spirit of our people, when the bridge is finished people will start to believe again" his hands tightened into fists and the determination he once showed earlier today seeped back into his voice "They believe that they will live with dignity, we can't let Gato stop us" he finished strongly, his words showed how important the town was to him.

"Then we will help" Mieko spoke after a moment of silence, both Sakura and Tazuna looked at her "We may be small and we may only be fresh out of the academy by we have determination just like you that drives us to help anyone in need, anyone who cannot help themselves, you have the same determination that many Ninja carry and for that I respect you and will help you with building the bridge and protecting your people" she turned her body to face Tazuna and brought a fist to where her heart lay "By the honour of the Hatake clan in which I carry I promise that I will do everything within my power to help you accomplish your task."

"Wow, you're really something huh kid?" Tazuna smiled softly "sure kid you can help."

"Me too!" Sakura yelled, feeling motivated by Mieko's words "I may not have honour from a clan but I still promise to help you."

Tazuna grunted, hiding his gratitude behind a serious expression "Alright you both can help, just don't whine if it gets too much."

"Only Naruto would do that" Mieko comments softly, Tazuna laughed and began heading home with the two young girls trailing behind him happily.

Mieko decided to go look for Naruto and Sasuke to see what they were doing, she arrived just in time to see Naruto fall and Sasuke jump down "Hey guys how is training?"

"Still not good enough!" Naruto yelled angrily "I still need to get as strong as you Mieko!"

"I'm sure you will Naruto, just stop and think for a moment" Naruto nodded and stood still, deep in thought "Do you need help Sasuke?" she asked the glaring boy.

"No, I don't need help" he growled back, he looked over to the Hatake female and saw her raised eyebrow and smirk which told him she knew he was lying. "Fine" her smirk turned into satisfied grin and watched as he looked over at Naruto, noticing how he was focusing intently, thinking that Naruto might have an easier explanation than Mieko did he decided to ask him.

"Hey Naruto" he called out and watched as Naruto flailed and fell to the floor.

"Hey what was that for, I was about to climb the tree" Mieko watched on in amusement, knowing that Sasuke thought that Naruto would be able to explain it to him in much simpler terms than she could, which was true, she was very technical in her explanation which Kakashi can take the blame. When he was training her he made sure that no emotions were apart of it, it was all analytical and logic so that she could understand the lessons in school a lot easier. He always taught her things long before the academy so she would be the top student, she learnt the Clone Jutsu when she was 5 and Chakra when she was 9. He wanted her to not suffer like he did, she was going to be stronger than all the Hatake's combined and far greater than them as well.

"Well uh," he started off lamely, he hated how he needed help but knew that he wasn't going to get better unless he got help "You know the thing is…"

"The thing is what?" Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms in defiance.

Sasuke's eye twitched in annoyance at the situation he was in "Well you know how you asked Sakura for advice when she was here, so what did she tell you?"

Naruto looked at him in silence with eyes as wide as saucers before looking at him arrogantly "I'm not telling you" Sasuke glared at him with hate burning eyes.

Mieko sighed, already seeing an argument forming "don't start guys, just listen to me" she walked over to Sasuke and talked softly "Chakra requires spiritual energy so if you get angry and frustrated it doesn't work, you have to relax and totally focus on the tree, that's how you get a steady chakra flow from your feet. Think of walking up the tree not through it."

"Hey, that's what Sakura told me!" Naruto cried in shock.

"Yes because she recited it from the book of Chakra 101, that's one of the books Iruka sensei gave us to read but neither of you did, hence why Sakura is so good at it since she read the entire book over and over until she knew every word" the two boys blushed "it's getting dark so we should probably get back to Tazuna's house, dinner should be already dished out by now" they both nodded and followed her back, Sasuke immediately wrapped his arms around her waist which pissed off Naruto, the Uchiha smirked since it was his intention all along.

Mieko and Sakura looked at Naruto and Sasuke as they shoved as much food as they could into their mouths "I want some more!" they both shouted at the same time and both glared at each other before vomiting all over the floor.

"Don't eat so much if you're gonna puke it up!" Sakura yelled, watching as Mieko began to dry reach when she saw the puke the was right beside her.

"Oh boy…can't take vomit" Mieko shut her mouth when she felt vomit shoot up into her mouth, she swallowed it and drank some water to keep it down, Inari sat beside her and patted her back and said 'there-there' as he did so.

"I have to…I have to eat" Sasuke muttered angrily whilst paining from the exertion vomiting caused him.

"And I have to eat more than him, it's the only possible way I can get strong enough to beat him" Naruto growled back.

"That's true but puking won't help you," Kakashi said with his eyes closed "Are you ok Mieko?" he asked when he saw how pale Mieko was "is it your stomach?" she nodded.

"What about your stomach?" Sakura asked in curiosity.

"Yeah I don't have a strong stomach when it comes to vomit, blood and guts I can handle, just not puke" she made it her life's duty to look at anything but the vomit beside her, which meant not even looking at Sasuke who frowned at that.

"Excuse me?" Sakura called out, it was after dinner and everyone was drinking tea and Tsunami washing the dishes "This picture is torn, is there some reason for that?" she looked over at the little boy who now sat in Mieko's lap, much to Naruto's and Sasuke's annoyance "Inari kept looking at it all through dinner, it looks like there's someone else in the picture but it got torn out, I mean that kind of strange, isn't it?" Mieko noticed how Inari tensed in her arms, she didn't know what was wrong but she tightened her hold on him and stroked his arm none the less.

"It's my husband," said Tsunami with sadness lacing her words.

"They used to call him a hero in this land" Tazuna grumbled, Mieko loosened her hold when Inari squirmed, she watched as he slipped out of her lap and walked away.

"Inari where are you going?" Tsunami called to her son but it fell on deaf ears, he opened the door and headed outside "Father you can't talk about him in front of Inari, you know that."

"Tsunami, let me get him, you're too busy already" Mieko spoke softly as she laid a hand on the mother's arm, Tsunami sighed and looked at the girl.

"Thank you, he shouldn't have gotten too far" Mieko nodded and left the house in search of the runaway boy.

"Inari! Inari it's me Mieko!" she called out into the darkness "Inari please come out, Inari-" she stopped when she saw a small figure huddled under a tree "there you are Inari, your mother is worried sick?"

"I don't want to go back and listen" he muttered petulantly, he looked so saddened by however was not in that picture.

"You don't have to" Mieko spoke softly, she knelt down beside him "We can stay out here for as long as you want" Inari looked and crawled over to her so his head laid on her lap, she brought her legs out from under her so she could get comfortable.

"He wasn't my real father…his name was Kaiza" Inari spoke after a few moments in silence.

"What was that? He wasn't."

"I was really close to him…he made everyone happy" Mieko remained silent and allowed Inari to speak "a boy stole my dog Poochie and started calling him shooting star, he threw Poochie into the river and made him drown then he pushed me in too but Kaiza saved me, he was my hero" tears began to flow from his eyes, Mieko continued to stay silent as she stroked his hair and listened to his story "he came to our town to follow his dreams, I followed him everywhere."

"You really looked up to him didn't you?" he nodded.

"He was my real father, not the one that left" Inari growled "He was a hero in this town…he told me over and over again 'if you care about something, protect it, even if you have to put your life on the line…protect it with both arms and never give in!' and I always listened to him but one day…Gato came and he hurt father, he hurt father a lot…they killed papa! They killed him and I couldn't protect him! He said he would protect me and this land with both his arms, he made me believe that he could do it! But it was all just a lie!" he was bawling his eyes out now, Mieko grabbed him and pulled him onto her lap so she could wrap her arms around him and press his face him her chest, she allowed him to cry as loudly and as long as he wanted.

"Shh, its ok Inari, its ok" she whispered softly, never stopping her arms from stroking his hair. She waited until he had fallen asleep before picking him up and carrying him back to his home "I'm back" she called out softly to the people who sat in the kitchen.

"Oh, how are you?" Sakura asked, "How is Inari?"

"He's fine, a little shaken up but he cried himself to sleep" Tsunami nodded and walked over to the girl and her son.

"Here let me take him to bed" Mieko nodded and tried to pull Inari off of her but he didn't want to let go "it seems that he does not want to part with you, why don't you take him upstairs and get him settle into bed."

"Of course," Mieko said goodnight to the others and walked upstairs, she was soon joined by Naruto "Oh Naruto, what are you doing?"

"I came to see how Inari was, I know about Kaiza" Mieko smile faltered.

"Oh, you do? He seems fine now" she laid him on his bed and pried his arms off of her "was that all you wanted?"

"His story made me realise something" he continued, he took small steps until he was in front of Mieko "Kaiza used to say that if you cared about something you have to protect it, with both arms and to never give in, that's why…I want to get stronger so I can protect you" he finished strongly his eyes looking into her widened ones intently.

"Naruto…" she trailed off, never had she heard Naruto speak so strongly and so full of emotions before.

"You know I care about you Mieko so I'm gonna get stronger so I can protect you, I'm gonna get stronger so you won't need Sasuke anymore, you'll only need me and no one else" he grabbed her shoulder and pulled her to him so he could put his head on her shoulder, his arms moved so they were around her waist "I'm gonna become stronger so you won't get hurt or killed, believe it."

"Naruto…I know you will get stronger, I have always believed in you, even when no one else has" she smiled and stroked his hair like she had done to Inari "We should really get to bed Naruto" he nodded and took a step back.

"Ok, goodnight" he kissed her on the cheek and sped off, she sighed and shook her head before heading to her own room, not realising that the boy that may be her boyfriend was watching their interaction with a heavy scowl.


	10. My baby vs a demon

"Morning guys" Mieko mumbled as she shuffled downstairs and over to the table, she sat beside Sasuke who pulled her closer to him and kissed her on the cheek, much to her surprise, he was keen on public displays of affection.

"Morning Mieko" Kakashi greeted, she waved to his lazily and said 'morning papa' then promptly yawned squeakily.

"So where is Naruto?" Mieko asked the quiet group who still seemed to be waking up, normally Naruto would still be in bed but lately he has been getting up early to train.

"It looks like he was out all night again," said Tazuna as he two wondered where the hyperactive boy had gone off too.

"He's gone completely crazy, he's out climbing trees in the dark" Sakura was the first to reply, voice showing her annoyance "He could be dead by now, you know, from using up too much of his chakra" Mieko narrowed her eyes and glared at the pink haired girl, she better not continue to say such things or there would be trouble. She didn't even want to think about Naruto being dead.

"Well I certainly hope he's ok, a child spending the night in the woods alone" Tsunami placed a cup of tea with no milk down for Mieko who thanked her softly. She hated milk, it made her tea lose its flavour and since she hadn't drank it in a while it made her feel sick almost like she was lactose intolerant. How ironic, a cat that didn't like milk.

"There's nothing to worry about" Kakashi cut in "Naruto's a goofy kid but he's also a fully-fledged ninja so he can handle himself."

"Sakura is right" everyone turned their heads to Sasuke who had remained silent for most of the morning "Naruto's such a loser he's probably lying out there dead somewhere."

"That's enough!" Mieko roared, her fists slamming against the table "Don't you dare talk about Naruto being dead when I'm here, you may not care about him but I certainly do" she pushed away from Sasuke and stormed out of the house.

Sasuke glared at the door and stood away from the table "Huh Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

"I'm going for a walk" he muttered as he shoved his hands into his pocket and walked off, whether to look for Mieko or not he did not know. All he knew was that he pissed her off.

Mieko had returned to the house after cooling off her raging anger, she pretty much just ran around and punched some trees to let off a little steam. When she had entered the house she continued to ignore Sakura, more so than usual after how she talked about Naruto earlier. When it was dinner she was beginning to worry about the two boys but she didn't show it, instead, she sat on her chair and continued to read one of the many books Tazuna and Tsunami had in their house. After some time the front door opened and Naruto and Sasuke walked in, both carrying and supporting each other as they shuffled to the table "What have you both been up to? You look like something the cat dragged in" Tazuna drawled when he noticed how dirty the boys were.

Naruto looked up at the group with a triumphant smirk "We both made it, we climbed all the way to the top" he proudly stated.

"Good" complimented Kakashi "now we can move on, starting tomorrow you're both bodyguards for Tazuna."

Naruto laughed triumphantly "Alright!" he flailed his arms around and pulled Sasuke to the floor with him when he lost his balance.

"Ahh, you are such a loser!" Sasuke shouted angrily whilst he pushed Naruto off him, the others laughed and Mieko smiled softly to her book, her anger at Sasuke dissipating due to the joy she was feeling, both Naruto and Sasuke had worked so hard day in and day out to reach the top and now they did it and she was so proud of them.

"Yeah, let's eat!" Naruto shouted and ran to the table, Sasuke soon followed and sat beside Mieko as usual, he was worried that she would still be mad about this morning but when he saw the smile and the pride shining in her eyes he knew he was forgiven.

"So how is the bridge going Tazuna?" Mieko asked once all the food had been eaten, they were now all sitting at the table to allow their meals to settle.

"In a few more days the bridge will be finished, we have you to thank for that" he replied to the female Hatake, she had kept to her promise and had worked alongside Sakura with building the bridge, construction seemed to speed up and its completion was drawing closer and closer.

"You've all done great but you still have to be careful" scolded Tsunami, these kids were so sweet, she hated thought of them getting hurt.

"I've been meaning to ask you this but I haven't had the chance until now" the old man turned his eyes over to Kakashi who waited patiently "Why did you stay here to protect me even though I lied to bring you here?" Mieko perked up, Kakashi had briefly explained what happened and how the battle with Zabuza went, that was why they were training, Zabuza was most likely still alive and they needed to be prepared to face him again.

Kakashi looked at him before speaking "Those who stray from the path of justice have no courage but under the wing of a strong leader, cowardice cannot survive" everyone looked at him curiously as he spoke those words "that was a quote from the first Hokage."

"But why…" Inari's small voice broke the silence that settled over the room after Kakashi had finished speaking, Naruto lifted his head from the table to look at the small child.

"Whadyou say?" he slurred to the boy.

"All his training is just a waste of time, Gato's got a whole army and they will beat you down and destroy you! These cool things you all say, they don't mean anything, no matter what you do the strong always win and weak always lose!" Inari shouted, his hands slamming on the desk in the hope of stopping the tears from leaking out.

"Speak for yourself, it won't be like that for me you got that" Naruto shot back, not liking how Inari was speaking, Mieko looked on with a worried expression, as did the others.

"Be quiet, just looking at you makes me sick! You don't know anything about this country you're just butting in!" Inari screamed, "Always laughing and playing around you don't know what it's like to suffer and be treated like dirt!"

"Inari don't…" Mieko muttered when she saw the dark look on Naruto's face, this argument needed to be stopped before it got out of hand.

"Listen to yourself, whining and complaining like some sorry little victim" Inari looked at Naruto in shock "You can whimper all day for all I care, you're nothing but a coward!" the blonde haired ninja pierced him with an angered glare.

"Naruto, you went too far!" Sakura yelled at him, how could Naruto speak to a little boy like that?

"No, Sakura" Mieko snapped to the pinkette who turned to her in shock at how harsh she spoke "they both went too far" she too stood from her chair "I'm going to make sure Naruto doesn't do something stupid" she patted Inari's head as he cried before leaving the house in search of her blonde haired friend "Naruto! Naruto where are you!?"

"I'm here Mieko!" she turned her head to the side, there Naruto stood, his body tensed and his fists clenched in anger.

"Naruto are you ok?" she hurried over to his side and grabbed both of his fists "please calm down, Inari didn't know."

"But he shouldn't have said anything at all!" he bit back harshly, all the pain he's felt through his entire life, the hate and hurt he's had to endure rushed through him.

"I understand but standing here being angry won't help anything" Mieko watched as Naruto took deep breaths to calm himself, she waited until his fists unclenched before speaking once more "you know what it is like to suffer and to be treated like dirt but do you know the different between you and Inari" he looked up at her "you got over it, you continued on with your life with a smile on your face, Inari had his family to help him but you…you had no one-"

"I had you" he interrupted, causing her to blink at him in surprise.

"Huh?"

"You helped me, you stayed as my friend even though everyone told you not to" he moved his hands so his fingers could intertwine with hers "you helped me to feel better and smile more than I usually would, you make me want to be a better person."

"Naruto…" she trailed off, the sincerity of his words hitting her hard "I guess we both helped each other get better huh?" they both smiled softly, their hands tightening around each other's. It was then that she realised her feelings for Naruto where not what she once thought they were, she thought that she had a crush on him because she cared for him deeply but no that wasn't it, she cared for him as a friend, as the greatest friend she could ever have. She decided that she would help Naruto get stronger so he could protect the ones he cared about, that he would become the greatest person he could be .

"Thanks, Mieko" Naruto spoke softly, afraid that if he spoke too loud he would ruin the moment "You don't know how much you mean to me" he moved forward and leant his forehead against hers "I know you don't see me like you do with Sasuke but…I still wanna be there for you, I still wanna get stronger so I can protect you."

"Thank you Naruto, that means more to me than you may ever know" she smiled at him brightly, her eyes shining with the joy that was only reserved for him and Sasuke "Why don't we head back, the others might get worried."

"Who cares about them, I like it out here."

"Of course you do" she pulled away with a chuckle "lets head back" Naruto pouted but followed her anyway.

* * *

The next day the others left Naruto in bed and headed outside, Mieko had rushed off earlier this morning, no one could understand a word she said but they were concerned when they saw how she was decked out in one of Sakura's ninja outfits, her Kunai's strapped on and her chakra flaring "Ok, I leave Naruto in your hands" Kakashi was speaking to Tsunami before they headed out to help Tazuna with the bridge "He's pushed his body to the limit overdoing it as usual, so you may not be able to move his body today at all."

"What about you, you're still recovering yourself," Tsunami asked with a concerned frown.

"Oh, do I look wobbly" joked Kakashi "I'll be ok."

"Come on, let's go" the others nodded to Tazuna and followed him to his work, what they saw when they arrived at the bridge made them all pause "hold on, what the heck is this!" all the bridge builders were lying on the floor, groaning in pain due to the various wounds littering their bodies "What happened!? Someone was here, someone got to them!"

"Mieko!" Sasuke screamed and raced off towards the lone figure that laid curled up on the floor "Mieko are you ok?" he rolled her over and brought her to his chest.

"Za…bu…za" she managed to force the words out of her mouth, she heard something raced past their house early in the morning and knew that only ninja moved that fast, when she arrived she was blindsided and attacked without being given a chance to fight back. When she managed to collect herself she pushed herself up on her feet with the help of Sasuke and headed over to the others, she took a moment to breathe so she could be ready for the oncoming attack.

"Oh no" Kakashi muttered when a heavy mist covered the bridge, obscuring their vision "This mist…Sasuke, Mieko, Sakura get ready" the trio nodded and pulled out their weapons, their bodies standing before Tazuna to protect him "I knew he was still alive, he just couldn't wait for round two."

"Hey sensei its Zabuza isn't it? This is his hidden mist Jutsu" Sakura spoke nervously, fear lacing her words.

"Sorry I kept you waiting, Kakashi" a deep and evil voice spoke from the thick mist "I see you still got those brats with you, oh and you brought along another one, or is that your pet" Mieko tightened her hold on her Kunai and growled "oh, did I upset the kitten" he chuckled darkly and turned to Sasuke "That one's still trembling, pitiful" they all tensed up when they saw that they were surrounded by Zabuza's, Sasuke looked up at the intimidating man with a confident smirk.

"I'm trembling with…excitement" he spoke deeply.

"Go on Sasuke" Kakashi called over his shoulder, a smile showing through his ever-present mask, all seven Zabuza's moved into attack but Sasuke's sliced through them all, they all froze before turning into water.

"Is this the wrong time to say I thoroughly enjoyed watching that" Mieko breathed out, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"I don't want to hear you say that Mieko" Kakashi said in annoyance, he did not want to know any details on her relationship with Sasuke… **at all**.

"Oh so you were able to see through my water clones, the brats improving" the real Zabuza spoke "It looks like you have a rival Haku."

"So it seems" Haku replied emotionlessly.

"This is going to be fun," said Mieko with a wicked fanged smile gracing her face, adrenaline was shooting through her veins at the prospect of destroying these two men that stood before her. She was going to enjoy this for as long as she could "let's get started shall we."


	11. I fight with my baby

The atmosphere was tense, all opponents muscles were tensed and ready for the fight that was about to begin "Well, well" Kakashi began "So I had it right, it was all an act, an act with a cute little mask."

"HUH!" Sakura screamed so loudly that it made Mieko shriek as it pierced her ear drums. She hissed angrily at the pinkette.

"Big phoney, ha" Sasuke insulted, earning himself a soft giggled from behind him.

"So I guess all that about being a tracker ninja protecting his village was just a bunch of bull!" said Tazuna dryly, he was so angry at these ninja for attacking his builders, they didn't deserve that, they only wanted to stop the suffering the town had to face constantly.

"They look pretty friendly to me" Mieko commented, "I say they've been pulling scams like this for quite some time."

"He's got some nerve facing us after he pulled that trick!" Sakura growled in her annoying high pitched voice.

"And hiding behind a mask, who does he think he's fooling" Mieko sweatdropped.

"Speak for yourself papa."

"That's it, I'm taking him out" stated Sasuke calmly "Who does he think he's fooling, hiding behind that mask like some sort of clown."

"Sasuke! You're so cool!" Sakura blushed heavily

"Kiss ass…" Mieko muttered to herself, getting annoyed with how the pinkette was flirting with Sasuke when the situation was dire…she certainly wasn't angry that Sakura was flirting with Sasuke who is in a relationship…no, not at all _'she better not touch my man – where did this possessiveness come from'_ she shook her head thoroughly, focusing her attention back onto the enemy before her only to see the boy known as Haku begin to spin.

"What the hell is that!?" Sakura cried out as she watched Sasuke prepare himself for the oncoming attack.

"Sakura, cover Tazuna, Mieko, you stay close to me" Kakashi ordered "let Sasuke handle this."

"Right" Mieko muttered, her eyes watching as her boyfriend engaged in battle, their speed was evenly matched and their attacks where vicious.

"We want the bridge builder not you" Haku explained as he blocked Sasuke's attack "If you back down I won't have to kill you."

"Save it" Sasuke shot back.

"You're making a mistake, you won't be able to keep up with my speed" Haku tried to reason "I've gained two key advantages."

"Yeah? What are they?"

"First, we're surrounded by water, second, I've blocked one of your hands, therefore…you only have one free hand to defend yourself" Sasuke's eyes widened when he saw Haku using one hand to perform a Jutsu.

"Shit…" Mieko muttered fearfully, she felt angry and helpless that she could not help Sasuke in his fight.

"Secret Jutsu, a thousand needles of death" he smashed his foot onto the water to raise it into the air.

"Sasuke!" Sakura called out, the group watched as the water turned into sharpened needles and headed straight for the Uchiha male who merely stood still with his eyes closed in concentration, his eyes snapped open an in a split second he jumped into the air and avoided every single needle, Haku gasped and jumped away from the incoming kunai.

"You're not as fast as you think" Sasuke taunted when he appeared behind the masked boy "From this point on…you'll be the one defending yourself from my attacks" they continued their fighting with incredible speed with Sasuke quickly becoming the victor with a well place kick to Haku's stomach that made him fly over to his Masters feet "Thought you were quicker huh, now what else are you wrong about?" Sasuke boasted.

"You made a big mistake insulting this ninja and calling them brats, that's just guaranteed to bring out Sasuke's attitude, he's the last member of the Uchiha clan" Kakashi started "And Sakura here is out sharpest mind" Sakura blushed on the outside but cheered on the inside "Mieko was trained by me since she was 5 and is our most skilled fighter on this, you insult the people she cares about and she won't hesitate in slaughtering you…her unique abilities will guarantee her a victory in every fight."

"I think it would be more fun to not use my ability this fight" Mieko mumbled, her eyes glued to Zabuza, intending to help Kakashi in defeating the demon.

"And last but not least our number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja is Naruto Uzumaki" Kakashi finished.

Zabuza merely stared at the group and began laughing "Haku if we keep going like this we'll be the victims instead of them, get on with it!" he ordered.

"Right" a strong chakra covered the boy's body "I'm sorry it's come to this."

"The air, it's so cold" Sasuke muttered to himself.

"Sasuke, behind you!" Mieko shouted to the Uchiha, he snapped his head around to watch the water rise into the air, it turned itself to ice and travelled back down to the floor to create a dome.

"Secret Jutsu, crystal ice mirrors!" team seven looked at the ice in shock, Haku stepped forward and entered his ice, further shocking the team. Kakashi growled and ran forward to help his student only to be stopped by Zabuza.

"If you enter this fight…you fight me" Zabuza demanded darkly "your boy has no chance against that Jutsu, he's finished" Mieko suddenly appeared beside Kakashi, her eyes narrowing into slits.

"You even mention Sasuke dying once and I will not hesitate in slaughtering you mercilessly" she hissed darkly.

"You couldn't even land a hit on me, little girl" Zabuza taunted.

"Don't be so quick to judge" Kakashi commented, his face portraying nothing.

"Now, we'll begin, and I will show you what speed really means" from the ice Haku threw many senbon needles into Sasuke.

"SASUKE!" Sakura screamed as she watched her crush get punctured by many needles.

"STOP IT!" Mieko screamed, showing more emotion then she would have like.

"Just try to help him and I will kill the other two in a heartbeat" Zabuza threatened, forcing the others to watch as Sasuke got covered by his blood more and more as each needle struck.

"I'm sorry but I can't stay with you" Sakura spoke to Tazuna "Forgive me."

"I understand" Tazuna replied "Go now."

"No Sakura!" Mieko was ignored as Sakura ran forth and threw a kunai into the ice, only for it to be caught by Haku, Sasuke collapsed shortly after.

"He caught it!" Sakura cried out in despair, she could do nothing to help the love of her life.

"Ahh" Haku gasped when his ice clones were attacked by an unknown source, he fell from his Jutsu and to the floor. Just as Sasuke was going to attack an explosion happened a little while away from him, distracting all who heard it.

"Who is it?" Sakura asked everyone looked at the cloud, waiting to see who would emerge.

"Number one, hyperactive knucklehead ninja…" Haku began.

Mieko sighed in relief when she saw the person who emerged from the smoke "Naruto Uzumaki is here! Yeah, believe it!" Naruto stood before them, his body striking what he thought was an intimidating pose, a determined smirk was plastered on his face "now that I'm here everything will be alright!"

"Naruto!" Sakura cheered in relief.

"You know how in stories the hero usually shows up at the last minute and then kicks butt? Well, that's what I'm gonna do right now! Believe it!" he pointed his finger at the group.

"Urg, this brat again" Zabuza drawled lazily, not looking in the least bit intimidated or impressed.

 _'Way to ruin the moment Naruto,'_ Mieko thought to herself, sighing in disappointment of her friend.

"Alright! You're history! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto brought his hands forth to form the hand signs only to be stopped when Zabuza threw a group of shuriken at him.

"No!" Kakashi yelled "Naruto move!" before anyone could blink, Mieko raced forth and brought her arm up, all the shuriken's and senbon needles that Haku threw stabbed into her flesh, the entire group gasped.

"Mieko!" Naruto cried in shock at the blood flowing out of his friends wounds.

"Don't be a dumbass Naruto, I know you're better than that" Mieko muttered, not showing how much pain she was feeling as she pulled the weapons out of her flesh.

"They didn't get him…why Mieko?" Sakura asked softly before glaring at Naruto "What are you doing Naruto are you crazy, you got Mieko hurt!"

"This is a battle, not a talent show, don't let your opponent see your Jutsu!" Kakashi scolded, angry that Mieko took the attack even though the senbon needles would have cancelled out the Shuriken's "A Shinobi's art is deception, always keep the enemies guessing, even when executing a single Jutsu one must distract their opponents attention, catch them off balance and outmanoeuvre them, you just turn yourself into a human target when you enter a battle like that."

"AHHHH I'M SORRY! I WAS JUST TRYING TO RESCUE EVERYBODY!" Naruto screamed in panic.

"But…there's another mystery here" Kakashi continued, looking down at Haku's crouched form, Zabuza caught onto what Kakashi was implying.

"Haku, what are you doing?" the demon of the mist growled out disapprovingly.

"Zabuza, this boy…let me fight him my own way, please," Haku asked emotionlessly.

"Let's bring it on!" both Naruto and Haku got into a stance, Mieko reappeared beside Kakashi, knowing that the fight was going to begin, luckily she had taught herself to ignore some amounts of pain when in a fight, luckily it was merely a flesh wound.

"Hmmph, so you want me to leave this to you" commented Zabuza "Is that it Haku? As usual, your too soft" Haku bowed his head.

"Forgive me" replied Haku.

"Zabuza is right, he merely scratched Sasuke with his needles but did not hit a single vital spot…his wounds look as though they were chosen to be inflicted in that specific area…why?" Mieko was confused but it would not let it get in the way, her mind needed to stay focused on the upcoming battle she would soon be participating in.

"I'm warning you! One way or another I'm going to rip off that mask and take you as you are" he harshly pointed his finger at Haku whose expression was hidden by said mask.

 _'If Naruto doesn't get his head into the right frame of mind then he won't even be able to defeat Haku who clearly outmatches him at this moment of time, I rarely doubt Naruto's abilities but Haku seems too strong for him'_ Mieko turned her head to Zabuza who stepped in front of both her and Kakashi.

"Don't even think about it" Zabuza warned, his eyes narrowing slightly "You know the score Kakashi, if either of you go after Haku I will off the bridge builder" Kakashi gasped and widened his eye before narrowing it again, he was conflicted, he couldn't protect Tazuna and leave Mieko to deal with Zabuza alone, Sakura is feisty but she wouldn't be able to fight Zabuza either "Relax Kakashi, sit back and enjoy the show, let's see how they do one on one."

"That mask, and your bogus story, you were with Zabuza all along!" Naruto clenched his fists "You think you can get away with a stunt like that!?"

"I'm sorry" Naruto gasped slightly "but as your sensei said, deceiving your opponent, catching them off guard, that is the art of the Shinobi, please don't take it personally" from the ice Sasuke rose from the ground and threw a kunai at what he thought was an unsuspecting Haku who merely pulled his head back slightly so the weapon would fly past, Naruto gasped and looked at Sasuke.

"I haven't forgotten about you, not for an instant" Haku turned his head to Sasuke slowly "Some warriors accept defeat gracefully, they know when they are beaten others do not, so be it, let us finish our battle then…to the death!" the ice user stalked his way towards Sasuke as if he was the predator and the Uchiha male was his prey.

"Wha-hey where are you going!?" Naruto asked loudly.

"It's alright Naruto, we'll have our fight next" Haku walked through the ice and stared at Sasuke, the Uchiha looked at the one before him thinking that it was the real Ninja "I'm right behind you" Haku had seven kunai between his fingers, catching Sasuke off guard who was wondering how he transported himself. Like before, many Haku's appeared in the ice blocks, and once again Sasuke was bombarded with thousands of needles.

"Sasuke!" Sakura and Naruto screamed.

"SASUKE!" Mieko screamed louder than the others, the emotion of worry and fear exploding within her usually calm mind, her eyes were widened in shock and her mouth hung open slightly as she looked at her partner who was clutching his shoulder and gritting his teeth to keep in any sounds that might give away that he was in pain.

"Sasuke, Naruto, think!" Kakashi yelled out to his students "You need to attack from the outside and from the inside at the same time!" Mieko sighed when Naruto suddenly appeared inside the ice Jutsu.

"Hey I snuck in here to save you" Naruto whispered, though everyone heard him "Pretty cool move huh Sasuke!" everyone had different expression, anger, confusion, annoyance.

"Naruto, you sneak up on your enemy, not your ally" Kakashi sighed in disappointment, though he knew that Naruto would screw it up somehow.

"Gah, you are a complete loser!" Sasuke yelled at Naruto "You're a Shinobi, think carefully before you move!"

"What the hell is your problem you should thank me for coming in here to help you!" Naruto yelled back.

"Naruto if we're both inside here-Grrrr FORGET IT! I've had it with your mistakes!" growled Sasuke, feeling too mad to be able to think of an insult to throw at the blonde haired ninja.

"And I've had it with your attitude! Believe it!" Naruto clenched his fists.

"That's it I'm going to destroy these mirrors right now!" Sasuke stood up and went through several hand signs "Fire style-"

"Hey what Jutsu are you using!"

"These mirrors are made of ice and how do you destroy ice? Figure it out" he brought his hand up to his mouth "Fireball Jutsu!" a huge ball of fire came hurtling out of his mouth and hit the ice directly.

"That didn't do anything at all!" Naruto screamed, stating the obvious to the already shocked and angered Uchiha male.

"You'll need much more heat than that to melt this ice" Haku finally spoke, Sasuke growled, wishing that Mieko could help but knowing she was unable to since it would put both Sakura and Tazuna in danger.

Light suddenly enveloped the ice mirrors, blinding all that was inside its prison "AHH!" both Naruto and Sasuke yelled out as they were attacked by something that was hidden within the light, they both landed on the ground harshly.

"Where is he!? Where is his needle attack coming from!? Are they clones?" Naruto forced himself to stand "we gotta find the real one, which one is it?"

Haku's voice surrounded the Konoha ninja "Look into every mirror as hard as you like, you will never learn the secret."

"Oh yeah! Shadow cloned Jutsu!"

"No!" Sasuke yelled "Don't!" he was ignored as several clones of Naruto suddenly appeared, all attacking the mirrors.

"You got a hundred mirrors, well I've got a hundred mes, then I'll find who you really are" each clone was attacked by the real Haku effortlessly, all of them puffed into smoke and disappeared "AAHH!" Naruto came flying back towards Sasuke.

"These mirrors do more than reflect my image, they also allow me to transport myself at light speed…through my eyes, you appear to be moving in slow motion."

"I knew it! It's a bloodline trait, Kekei Genkai" Kakashi gasped in shock.

"Kekei Genkai? What is it?" Sakura asked her incredibly worried sensei.

"It's like the Uchiha's Sharingan, you can't learn it, it has to be in your blood" Mieko explained "your genetic code, passed down from generation to generation within a single clan."

"But that means-"

"Yes, even I can't copy that Jutsu" Kakashi finished Sakura's sentence "There's no way to destroy it, and no way to stop him" everyone narrowed they eyes at this information.

"I couldn't break through" Sasuke looked towards Naruto "So what he's not gonna stop me" Haku gasped "I'm not giving up and I'm not gonna lose here because I have a dream and no one is gonna take it away from me" he glared at the ice maker "someday I'm gonna be respected in my village that's my dream! To be the greatest Hokage!" Mieko's eyes glazed over slightly.

 _'Dreams…'_ she thought back to when she was a child.

 ** _"And what is your dream Mieko?" Itachi asked a small girl with two black pigtails. They were sitting in an empty park so Kakashi could have some time to himself._**

 ** _"My dream is to one day marry you and have a HUGE family!" the girl happily replied with hearts in her eyes as she stared at Itachi dreamily._**

 ** _"Is that so?" Itachi chuckled._**

 **"Back then my dreams were simple, easy, I originally was supposed to be married to Itachi before Sasuke was born, it didn't matter which brother I married as long as we continued the main Uchiha family but…after the massacre."**

 ** _"My dream…will one day become a reality" Mieko hissed out menacingly, her fists continuously punching a tree, not even stopping as she broke the skin over her knuckles "I will kill Itachi for the pain he has caused me and Sasuke!"_**

 **"My anger was so strong within me that day that it caused me to lose my mind, Kakashi had found me running through thick trees on all fours, he tried to walk up to me but I growled at him like an animal, I had lost my mine to my beastly instincts. I nearly attacked Kakashi before I managed to catch a whiff of his scent, that stopped me as my instincts realised he was my father and the alpha. After that my anger disappeared and my dream changed…now my dream is to make sure Sasuke is never alone and that I would become strong so that I could and will always be able to protect him, Naruto had found his way into this dream as well when he cared for me after the trauma I suffered."**

Her glazed eyes focused back on the real world as Haku began to speak "it was not my desire to be a Shinobi, it's painful" Haku spoke slowly "I don't want to kill you but if you advance, I will have no choice, then I will kill the kindness in my own heart and fully embrace the Shinobi way, and there will be no mercy, no turning back, this bridge will be the battlefield where our dreams collide, now I must fight for my dream, just as you fight for yours, please do not blame me, I fight for someone who is precious to me, I live for him and I face death for him so that his dream may become a reality…that is my dream, and for the sake of that dream if I must I will act as a Shinobi and take your lives" both Sasuke and Naruto suddenly grew smirks, fully intending for their dreams to become a reality as well and they would do anything to make them a reality as well.

"Sasuke, Naruto!" Sakura shouted, "take this guy out, you can do it-"

"Don't Sakura" Kakashi interrupted "don't push them."

"Huh?" both Sakura and Mieko turned to look at Kakashi's focused expression.

"Even if they somehow found a way to overcome the mirror jutsu, they still couldn't defeat this ninja."

"How can you be so sure!?" Sakura cried out, wide eyes staring at her sensei in shock.

"What are you trying to say papa?" Mieko was losing her confidence, now she was worried about her sensei losing confidence in Sasuke and Naruto.

"They have the desire to win, but they don't have the instincts to kill" Mieko lowered her eyes to the ground, he was right, the only people on this team that were willing to kill was Kakashi and herself. Kakashi had killed years ago and continues to do so but that was not his choice, he was a prodigy in the third Shinobi war and was forced to grow this instinct. Mieko, on the other hand, was raised in a time of peace but even then she was forced to kill since she too was a prodigy, her first kill was when a rogue ninja tried to attack her and was by accident, her beastly nature had gotten too strong when she was fighting with the enemy and she lost control, after she killed her opponent she was screwed in the head for weeks before she was able to overcome it with the help of Sasuke and her father, she would be too weak if it wasn't for them. "That boy is a whole other breed, he lives for pain, he thrives on it" Mieko's shining orbs flashed at the mention Haku thriving on pain, she knew that feeling all too well, a feeling that she hated more than anything in the world.

"Exactly, your village had become complacent, your trainees never learnt the most important lesson of all" Zabuza stood stiff, looking at Kakashi menacingly "To kill the feeling in their own hearts, to crush their opponent mercilessly with no emotion and no regret" Sakura gasped.

"Wha- but then sensei, what are we gonna do? Please tell us!" Sakura asked Kakashi pleadingly, she was scared that Haku would kill Sasuke. Kakashi remained still, thinking of his options, he could make a break for it and save Naruto and Sasuke but Zabuza would slay the bridge builder, he wasn't going to allow Mieko to fight Zabuza on her own, no matter how skilled she was he wasn't going to take the chance. If he used Shadow clones then Zabuza would use his own water clones and he would waste his chakra, there was only one thing he could do.

Kakashi brought his hand to his Hitai-ate, he was going to use his Sharingan once more to take this guy out. Seeing this Zabuza began to laugh "Sharingan, you're no fun Kakashi, using the same old trick" Mieko narrowed her eyes, noticing that Zabuza was reaching for something under his shirt, both her sensei and herself gasped when the demon sped forth, raising a kunai to strike Kakashi.

"Sensei no!" Sakura cried out when the kunai struck Kakashi's hand, Mieko got into a battle stance and readied her body to attack.

"If it's just an old trick, why did you just stop me?" Kakashi taunted, once again Zabuza laughed.

"Let your opponent see your Jutsu too many times and they'll find a way to use it against you."

"Then count yourself lucky, you're the only man alive who has seen my Sharingan twice, shows over, there won't be a third time."

"Even if you did defeat me you'd have no chance against Haku" Sakura looked over at the ice prison with a worried expression "When I found him he was just a street kid but I trained him in the most advanced ninja techniques, I taught him everything I know plus, he had special abilities that he refined on his own. The boy developed quickly, soon he could face the most powerful enemy, outnumbered, in total darkness it didn't matter, he could strike with perfect accuracy, he cared nothing for his own life, or the lives of others, he became a unique fighting machine, a Shinobi, in the end, his powers surpassed even mine, his Kekkei genkai cannot be defeated by anyone, I've created a tool that can destroy anything that stands in my way, unlike the useless punks that follow you around" Zabuza pulled out his kunai and stared at Mieko who began chuckling darkly "what are you laughing about brat?" he snarled.

"You seem to think that you have created this unstoppable killing machine that we can never hope to defeat" she looked into the demon's eyes with smugness swirling in her own orbs "you are sorely mistaken."

"What? You think you can take him on" Zabuza laughed loudly.

"In fact, I can, if Naruto and Sasuke were not in such a dangerous situation then your precious Haku would already be dead."

"You're kidding, a weakling like you could never kill Haku."

"Ah!" Zabuza and Mieko stopped bickering and turned to the ice prison when they heard Naruto yell, inside Naruto's clones were being destroyed and Sasuke was being bombarded with senbon needles "How is he doing that!?" Naruto yelled out, Sasuke remained quiet, slowly standing as he realised a weak point in Haku's ice mirrors "One more time! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" many Naruto's popped in and tried attacking Haku again, Sasuke took his chance and kicked water into the air, a tactic already formed in his mind.

"Don't you see that it's useless" Haku attacked again and the two males were flown back, the bodies thrown against the floor.

Sasuke rose to his knees and huffed when he felt his stiff muscles ache in disagreement _'I could see his speed but that doesn't mean I can match it'_ I realisation suddenly occurred to him _'the water, its being repelled'_ he looked at all the Haku clones _'what if I tried something else, not water but-yes, now it's my move.'_

Zabuza chuckled at his enemies "You see little brat, Kakashi, you think you and those other brats can defeat Haku? He is the ultimate battle tool for destruction."

"Have you finished bragging, you're starting to put me to sleep" Kakashi pulled his Hitai-ate away from his eye to reveal his Sharingan "Lets finish this, now!"

"Fine but there's one more thing you should know, a little more bragging as you say, did you really think that our last battle was just win or lose, that I took your attacks like some stupid Genin, Haku was there, hiding , watching every move you make, studying your Sharingan, Haku can see a Jutsu once and can immediately devise a lethal counter attack, it's one of his gifts" Sakura's worried expression grew into one of fear "I've been waiting to see the look on your face when you realise that your Sharingan has become worthless. You once said the same Jutsu won't work on me twice, and now I'm telling you that" Zabuza raised in hand to perform a one handed Justu "Ninja art: Hidden mist Jutsu" Kakashi followed Mieko and prepared for an attack as mist appeared and covered their vision, Zabuza disappeared soon after.

"This Is it" Mieko muttered determinedly.

"Sensei?"

"Sakura, stay with Tazuna" Sakura nodded and ran back to the bridge builder "Mieko, you stay with me, we will need to team up to take this guy down so we can help Naruto and Sasuke" she nodded silently, only to gasp when she heard the whirling of several shuriken's, with lightning speed reflexes she brought out a kunai and blocked all of them.

"Very skillfull, guess you're not that bad brat" Both Kakashi and Mieko's eyes widened when they heard Zabuza's voice behind them, they quickly turned around to face the man who had his eyes closed in concentration "but next time you see me will be the last time you see anything, without your Sharingan you're nothing" he faded away once more.

"Mieko, I think you should use your senses for this fight."

"Yes papa" she closed her eyes before reopening then, what was once simple golden eyes shining brightly. Her eyes, ears and nose would detect anything Zabuza did. She was surprised that the mist ninja had no scent when she breathed in deeply.

"You wanted me to believe you could see through anything even through time but your prediction was wrong, I'm still alive so you're a fraud Kakashi, you can't read the future and you can't read me, the Sharingan is just a trick which makes you seem more powerful than you are, I know now that your Sharingan has two separate elements, the piercing eyes which sees every detail and the hypnotic eye, which mesmerises your opponent, employing these abilities can allow you to execute multiple Jutsu's in quick succession which makes it seem like you can see the future, now that I know this I can make a very simple plan to defeat you, first I will disable your piercing eye with this zero visibility mist."

"Papa, in front of you!" Mieko shouted, allow Kakashi to quickly jump away from Zabuza's attack.

"Heh, the little girl has faster reflexes then you do Kakashi" Zabuza teased "Next I will neutralise your hypnotic eye by keeping my own eyes closed, you can't bore into my mind without looking into my eyes."

"Brilliant, except with your eyes closed you can't see me either" Kakashi spoke back.

"Have you forgotten who I am Kakashi, I'm the demon of the hidden mist, the master of the silent kill, I can take you out by sound alone" the Jounin's eyes widened, this was not good.

"Papa?" Mieko asked when she saw Kakashi's snap his eyes open.

"The bridge builder!"

"Sakura! Tazuna! Behind you!" Mieko shouted. Sakura quickly jerked her body around to see Zabuza running towards them, without another thought, Mieko flash stepped behind Tazuna and blocked Zabuza's attack.

"Too late!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"


	12. My baby becomes a beast

Mieko stood before Zabuza, panting heavily as she clutched the deep wound that the demon caused, her blood dribbled between her pale fingers and down onto the floor "So the brat can hear me huh? You must be the tiger girl I've heard so much about."

"Mieko!" both Kakashi and Sakura yelled in fear for their injured team member and daughter.

"You were late Kakashi, you let your concern for those little punks cloud your mind, you let your pet get injured tsk tsk" Zabuza shook his head "you allowed me to increase the fog that already hinders your Sharingan eye, your eyes are sharp Kakashi but not sharp enough to read my moves, not anymore" the demon laughed "come on Kakashi I want this to be fun, don't let this little girl be my play toy, I want to enjoy myself as I exact my revenge" Mieko hissed as she touched her wound a little too hard "As for those brats, don't worry, their at Haku's mercy and their breathing their last breaths right now" Zabuza raised his sword, ready to fight "relax, you'll have plenty of time to weep out an apology for failing those brats when you see them in the next life" he laughed crazily as the mist thickened though he was still visible, Mieko closed her eyes in concentration as she used her hearing to locate Zabuza's whereabouts just in case he disappeared again, it was difficult seeing as the pain she was feeling from the kunai's and needles Haku and Zabuza threw was increased by the sword that sliced through her already pre-existing wound she had gotten from that rouge tiger summons.

 _'This week has not been kind to me, the spirits must be angry at me for some reason-focus Mieko, I need to take down Zabuza so I can help Sasuke and Naruto, I can feel their chakra decreasing'_

"Are you ok Mieko?" Kakashi asked, racing up beside the small girl to look at her wound, there wasn't anything he could do until Zabuza was defeated.

"Yes I'm fine, focus on the battle papa and deal with me later"

"You know I can't do that."

"If you focus on me than Tazuna and Sakura will die, I'm a ninja so I can handle myself to some degree against him, we need to fight together so we can help Naruto and Sasuke" Kakashi nodded though he was still hesitant to leave her, they both turned to Sakura.

"He said Sasuke would die!"

"He also said Naruto too Sakura" Mieko snapped, hating that her predictions where right, Sakura only cares about Sasuke and that will cause everyone else to get hurt as well.

"No I won't believe that! I have faith in him" Mieko sighed, giving up on the Sasuke obsessed pink haired girl.

 _'Heh, to bad he's mine now'_ she would let that possessive thought slide for now, she was focused on more important things.

"I won't let him take Sasuke…or Naruto either."

"Exactly" Sakura stopped her inner cheering to turn to her sensei "I…I believe in their abilities, I have faith in them, Naruto, the number one hyperactive knuckleheaded ninja…and Sasuke, heir to the most powerful clan in the hidden leaf village" Zabuza's eyes widened.

"You mean-"

"Yes, his name is Sasuke Uchiha, the unique powers of the Uchiha bloodline runs through his veins, the Kekkei Genkai is his birth right"

"Ahh I heard that a young ninja survived the massacre of the Uchiha clan, no wonder he advanced so quickly…but, Haku advanced quickly too, no one can match him" the three ninja got ready to attack "No one has ever stopped his secret Jutsu, even the most skilled Jounin fall before him just like you will fall before me right now!"

"Sakura, stay with Tazuna, Mieko you're with me" Sakura nodded as Kakashi and Mieko ran into the mist.

"He's right this needs to end but he will be the one who will fall!"

Mieko suddenly stopped when she felt Sasuke's chakra slow down to a dangerous level "Sasuke!" without caring that she should be fighting she disappeared from Kakashi's side and reappeared next to Naruto's who was holding Sasuke "Oh no…Sasuke."

"Mieko…you shouldn't be in here…you could get hurt" Sasuke muttered to Mieko softly, he was too weak to speak any louder.

"I'm more worried about you silly" she said softly caressing his short black hair.

"Naruto…my brother, he's still out there" Mieko stiffened "I…stay alive…until I…killed him" Sasuke's eyes closed slightly as he reached a hand out to the blonde haired kid "Naruto don't let your dream die…Mieko I lo…" Mieko's and Naruto's eyes widened as Sasuke's hand went limp, telling him that his life had left his body.

"N-no Sasuke you can't leave me alone, Sasuke? SASUKE!" Mieko screamed in pure anger, her body slumping over, the one person who kept her sane had died.

"Has this been the first time you have seen a friend die in battle? This is part of what it means to be a ninja" Haku spoke as he sunk back into the ice.

"Shut up" Naruto growled out angrily "I…I hated you too Sasuke and yet…" steam began rising from Naruto, a dark and evil chakra surrounded the two young Shinobi; the chakra flowing from Naruto seemed to awaken a deep and hidden chakra from within Mieko as well.

"You'll pay for this" Mieko hissed out darkly, large spiral flames came shooting out of Naruto as dark shadows began to intertwine with them from Mieko.

"I'm gonna kill you!"Naruto roared out angrily, his eyes were slitted and shined like the fire that surrounded him, a giant fox with black stripes appeared above the two beings, the wounds on both their bodies disappeared as steam rose from them, fingernails grew into claws and teeth grew into fangs, the two children looked like beasts in human form, Mieko's eyes turned complete black with gold in the centre, they glowed ominously, showing the malicious intent they harboured for Haku. Both Naruto and Mieko turned to face Haku, almost like they were of one mind, they souls merging together to form one of pure hate and rage.

Kakashi and Zabuza froze in mid attack, they felt the dark power emanating from the ice prison, both of them were unsure of what lay within though they were not eager to find out "ROAAAAAAR!" the beast roared loudly.

"Zabuza isn't creating this, I know this chakra! There's no way! But… that other chakra, it shouldn't be real!" Kakashi's feeling of foreboding increased as memories resurfaced "Naruto…this puts everyone in danger, now of all times their seals are broken! I have to stop it" the two beings launched towards Haku, intending to rip him to shreds, they ran on four legs like wild beasts, Haku threw several Senbon needles but the raw power flicked them away like weak little leaves. The two beasts like kids charged towards Haku, swiping at him at every chance they got, no matter how many times Haku dodged them and moved to another piece of ice they would destroy it and attack him again. Naruto grabbed onto Haku and punched him straight in the face, sending him high into the end where he plummeted into the ground soon after, the force of the punch caused all the ice to crack and shatter. Naruto once again charged forth, a beast roar escaping his mouth; he pounced forth and brought his clawed fist within an inch of Haku's face before he suddenly regained his senses.

"So you were the one in the forest?" he asked.

"Why do you not strike?" Haku asked.

"Huh?"

"Did you not just vow to avenge your comrade's death by killing me?" Naruto turned around to look at Sasuke's body, he noticed Mieko form crouching over him in a protective/predatory like stance, her raw power still emanating darkness and rage, she seemed to forget her rage towards Haku, he would help her calm down later, for now he needed to focus on Haku "Or was that vow just empty words?" Naruto yelled and punched Haku in the face, he did not dodge the attack, he allowed it to connect to his face and force him to the ground "No, that won't do" he got to onto his knees and looked at Naruto "you're still holding back, if that is all the strength you can put into a punch then you will never keep your vow…I guess he didn't mean as much to you as you pretend" he struggled to his feet "to show mercy to those who hurt the one you serve, to allow his enemies to live when you can strike them down, this is not compassion it is a betrayal of your life's very purpose, for what reason do you exist then? You're of use to no one, your life has no meaning, it is mere existence, day after day of pain and struggle signifying nothing."

"Yeah well speak for yourself!"

"Are you really that blind little one, I am speaking for myself" he closed his eyes and smiled "today has shown me that I am no longer of use to Zabuza."

"Zabuza…why that guy anyway!? To devote your life to a rotten scum who doesn't know the meaning of the word honour, if he's really the one person that matters to you man that is the sorriest thing I've ever heard!"

"There were others that once mattered to me, long ago" Haku continued, ignoring Naruto's insult "My father and my mother, I was born in the land of water in a small village where snow lies deep in the winter, my parents were farmers and very poor, our life was hard but we were content, my parents were good to each other and kind to me, yes…we were happy once, but then everything changed…because of something that happened long before I was even born, everything changed" Naruto looked confused.

"What do you mean, what was it, what happened?"

"It wasn't my doing…it is in the blood."

"The blood?"

"So what was it? You said something happened that changed everything"

"It was my father who changed, he killed my mother and he almost killed me" Naruto looked at Haku in shock "after years of suffering the waring of civil war, the people of my land came to hate and fear anyone that carried a Kekkei Genkai in their blood."

"Kekkei Genkai?"

"The advance blood trait of a clan, its Jutsu and abilities, passed down through generation to generation, because of their unique abilities the clans were used as mercenaries, they fought many battles and where much feared but when the wars were over they were despised and shunned by the people who feared their presence would only bring more war and misfortune, so it was that after the war these clans went into hiding, denying the bloodline trait that flowed in their veins, concealing their unique abilities, knowing that being discovered would mean certain death, if you had search that boys memories I'm sure you would have found it there too" they both looked at the Uchiha boy "the cruelty of people, there fear of things they don't understand…for years my mother was successful in hiding her bloodline trait, she met and fell in love with a simple farmer, they were married and after that my mother thought she would live an ordinary peaceful life till the end of her days…my father had seen me use my power and he knew of the secret my mother had kept hidden, my father killed my mother and was too kill me too but… I killed him first, when at last I was myself again, I was no longer myself (that's really what Haku said…not kidding) my father and mother were gone but I knew something else was taken from me, something even more important…and that is when I truly despaired."

"More important than your mother and father, what?"

"My purpose, in all the world there was no one who needed me, I was…unnecessary" Once again Haku's words startled the young ninja, whose views on existence where vastly different to the ice maker "Why is it that you are so determined to be Hokage, because you want all eyes to look on you and recognise you as a great ninja, you see through the eyes of other what significance your life is, when there is no one that sees you or even looks at you as though you do not exist…then Zabuza came along and looked at me, his eyes were not full of hate and fear, he did not shun me for my strangeness, indeed my special powers were just what he needed…he made me necessary again" a reminiscing smile graced Haku's face, though his eyes betrayed sadness that Naruto could not understand "I was happy…I failed you Zabuza, I am like a weapon that has been broken and is of no further use" he began to walk towards Naruto, step by step Naruto tensed his muscles in preparation for a fight "Naruto…kill me" Naruto shook his head and stumbled back.

"That is the most ridiculous story I've ever heard! I mean, he treats you like a slave, you're a human being not a weapon or a tool, how can you care about someone like that!?"

"For that very reason" Haku replied.

"Huh?"

"Does that seem so strange to you?"

"Well, yeah a little."

"When he found me, I was without a reason or purpose for living, Zabuza gave me both…but now my usefulness is over, the only thing that gave my life meaning, is gone, I am a tool a broken weapon, I am no use to anyone…go on Naruto, do it, for both of our sakes…do it, quickly" Naruto shook his head vehemently, showing his disagreement to Haku's order "Why do you hesitate? I thought you wanted to be a mighty warrior,"

"Grrrrr that's not what it's about, do think that's all there is to it, just killing and fighting until one man is left standing!? There's a lot more to being a Shinobi then that, and there are other ways to showing your strength by beating someone in battle."

"I've had a feeling all along, from the first moment we met in the woods, we're a lot alike" Naruto's eyes widened at Haku's words "I'm sure you know what I mean, I'm only sorry that is your hand that must be tainted with my unworthy blood."

"Sure about this? And you're positive that it's the only way?"

"Yes" was Haku's simple answer, Naruto closed his eyes in frustration.

"The weird thing is, if we met another time and place we could have been friends" the leaf ninja snapped his eyes open and ran forth, he reached into his side pouch and pulled out a kunai "This is for Sasuke because he also had a dream! And no one hurts Mieko without getting punished!" Naruto brought his hand forward only for it to be grabbed by Haku.

"Sorry Naruto change of plans" he performed his one handed sign "I'm not ready to die quite yet" he jumped into the air and ran towards Zabuza and in front of Kakashi's chidori, its attack hitting directly into his chest, blood dripped from the wound and pooled at his feet "Arg….Zab…uz…a" he gripped Kakashi's wrist.

"So my future is all used up huh? Ahhahahaha wrong again Kakashi."

Naruto noticed the fog lifting and ran to where he saw three figures, he stopped when he saw his sensei's hand in Haku's chest "What? I don't get it what the hecks going on here?"

"Isn't that…the young man in that mask?" Tazuna asked Sakura, who was clutching her chest tightly.

"The boy threw himself in front of my attack" Kakashi began "He saved your worthless life at the cost of his own" Zabuza chuckled lightly.

"Well done Haku, RAAAAAAAA!"

"Kakashi sensei watch out!" Sakura yelled, seeing Zabuza raise his arm to grab his sword.

"I knew I'd found a treasure when I found you boy!" he pulled his sword out of its sheath "You have not only given me my life but Kakashi's as well!" he swing his sword down towards Haku and Kakashi's with a mighty swing, intending to finish them both off. Kakashi grabbed Haku's body and jumped away from the oncoming strike, landing at the other side of the bridge "not bad for having a corpse in your arms" Zabuza cackled madly.

"You'll pay for that!"

"Naruto! Stay out of this" Kakashi warned, he gently placed Haku's lifeless body on the ground, closing his dead open eyes in respect "this is my battle, Zabuza's mine."

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, only just seeing the blonde boy "Naruto over here!" the blondes shoulders slumped "Naruto! So you, Mieko and Sasuke are alright!"

"Ahh…umm."

"What's wrong, where is Sasuke anyway!" Naruto scrunched his eyes up and clenched his teeth, realisation crossed the pinkette's face "N-no"

"Sakura…"

"Kakashi! I'd stay focused if I was you" the silver haired man snapped his head up to look at the charging demon, without hesitation he brought his feet up and kicked the man in the jaw, sending him back.

"Let me take you to him Sakura" Tazuna offered that shocked girl "as long as we stay together you won't be disobeying your sensei's orders."

"Thank you" she grabbed Tazuna's hand and raced forward.

"Wa-wait you can't go near him!" Naruto shouted.

"Huh why not!" Sakura practically screamed.

"Because there's something wrong with Mieko, if you get close she will kill you!" he shouted back.

"No she won't she's my teammate!" Sakura ignored Naruto's shouts, she wanted to go to the love of her life and no one was going to stop her. She stopped right at Sasuke's body but was pushed back by an angered Mieko "M-Mieko it's me Sakura, let me see Sasuke" all she got was an angered roar, the female Hatake crouched her body over Sasuke in a defensive position, even with her rage expression tears where streaming down her face.

"Don't get to close Sakura, Mieko is obviously so angered by Sasuke's death that she won't listen to reason…let her grieve for him and perhaps she will calm down."

"M-Mieko please, Sasuke wouldn't want you to be like this" Mieko snapped her blackened eyes up to Sakura, humanity seeped back into her mind and the beastly thoughts disappeared.

"S-Sakura? I-I'm…." without another thought Sakura ran forth and pulled Mieko into her arms, she was scared of Mieko due to the beastly chakra she had emanated but she was more concerned with comforting the girl "he's gone….no…" her cries suddenly exploded from within her.

"Don't worry about it Sakura let it all out, you both need it" Tazuna consoled, noticing how the pink haired girl was forcing back her cries.

"C-come back to me Sasuke please…I need you" Mieko keep pleaded into Sakura's chest, the boy she cared about was gone, lying dead on the floor, she had not saved him "SASUKE!" the two girls cried loudly, not caring that they were breaking the rules of a Shinobi…all they wanted was for Sasuke to open his eyes, though no matter how much they wished they knew it was not to be so, and that made their hearts break even more. They may not be the best of friends but they both had one thing In common, they both loved Sasuke, and that can bring even enemies together to grieve.

"Sasuke!" Sakura threw herself onto Sasuke's chest, unable to comfort Mieko as she too was heartbroken.

"Sakura…It's hard to breathe with you on top of me" the pinkette gasped and jerked herself up.

"Sasuke…" she said in relief, her cries dying down as she looked into the raven haired boys eyes "Mieko…he's alive!" she cried out and hugged him tightly.

"Sakura that hurts."

"Sasuke!" Mieko looked up from the floor and saw Sasuke's raven eyes that she thought she would never see again, she sat still, staring at him through tears, thinking that if she looked away the illusion would disappear and he would be dead once more.

"…alive…he's alive" she whispered to herself, trying to make sure that these words were true.

"No you shouldn't move" Sakura cried out, trying to get Sasuke to lay back down.

"What happened to Naruto…and that guy in the mask" he gasped "what about Mieko!?"

"I'm right here…Sasuke" he jerked his head around and looked at his greatest friend and girlfriend, she sat there beside him, her eyes red from crying, a tear that looked like a sword wound was slashed through Sakura's shirt she let her borrow.

"Are you ok Mieko?" he asked frantically.

"I'm fine Sasuke, it was you I was worried about…I thought you were dead."

Sakura continued on for Mieko "And Naruto is just fine but the one in the mask…he's dead."

"Dead! But how!?" he asked "did Naruto do it?"

"Oh, I came in late I don't know what happened…he was protecting Zabuza" a smile suddenly graced her face "I had faith in you Sasuke, I knew you'd pull through, you're too cool a guy to stay down for too long" she stood from the floor and waved at Naruto whilst Mieko helped him stand, she did not relinquish her hold on him once he was standing be he didn't mind, he knew that she was trying to reassure herself that he was alive and honestly…he was doing the same.

"Naruto! Over here!" the blonde haired kid turned around and looked at Sasuke in surprise "Its Sasuke he's alive! And Mieko's ok too!"

"Well, well, will wonders never cease" Kakashi said calmly, though he too was happy that his student survived "Amazing."

"Hey! Yoooo whooo!" everyone jerked their heads over to look at Gato's men "Don't get too comfortable."

"This party ain't over yet, whose gonna pay us now that Gato's gone?"

"No way we're gonna leave here empty handed, so we'll just have to hit the village and see what they've got for us."

"Come on Kakashi sensei you must have a Jutsu that can take on this bunch of losers!" Naruto turned to his kneeling sensei.

"Naruto, right now I used up too much of my chakra."

"Get em boys!" the leader pointed to the group and the others charged.

"I guess it's my turn" Mieko muttered.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

"Sakura take Sasuke" she waited for the pinkette to grab Sasuke before stretching her muscles.

"What are you going to do?" Sakura asked.

"I'm going to put my skills to good use" with those words she charged forth, a kunai was in each hand "the villagers are coming, I'm going to take out as many as I can until they arrive."

"Mieko stop!" Naruto yelled.

"Don't worry about it Naruto" Kakashi spoke "she'll be fine, she has used barely any of her chakra, these men will be killed easily by her" Mieko charged in and took out as many as she could until she heard the roaring of the townspeople "Mieko you can stop now."

"Yes papa" she quickly finished off the man she was attacking before and jumped away, she landed beside Naruto and turned towards the villagers who ran up to the mercenaries with weapons in all their hands, Gato's men looked at them in shock.

"Before you set one foot in our village, you'll have to go through all of us!"

"YEAHHH!" the villagers roared in agreement.

"Inari!" Naruto cheered happily.

"Heroes usually show up at the last minute you know" Inari replied back.

"They've all come, the whole village" tears sprung in Tazuna's eyes as he looked at his family proudly.

"Shadow clone Jutsu!" five clones of Naruto appeared suddenly.

"Think you have enough chakra to help out, papa?" Mieko asked.

"Only if you do too" they nodded to each other and did the hand sign for the clone technique "Shadow clone Jutsu! Kakashi style" over a hundred Kakashi's appeared

"My turn" Mieko smirked and did the same "Shadow clone Jutsu!" a hundred Mieko burst into life and stood in front of all the Kakashi's, further scaring all of Gato's men as it meant 100 beastly girls with claws and fangs "still wanna fight?" all the Mieko's asked in unison.

"NO THANKS!" Gato's men screamed and raced away as fast as their cowardly legs could take them "AHH!" they ran into their boat and swam away.

"Victory!" Inari yelled, earning him a cheer from his entire village.

"Sasuke!" all the Mieko's screamed and ran towards the Uchiha male.

"Ah no don't do it!" he screamed, thinking he was going to be squashed, just before they all trampled him the clones disappeared and it was the real Mieko that jumped on him, he managed to stay on his feet as both their arms wrapped around each other.

"I thought you were dead" Mieko whispered desperately into his neck, she purred in content and happiness that she was able to feel his arms around her.

"I'm not going anywhere" he tightened his hug before letting her go so she could watch Kakashi carry Zabuza's dying body over to Haku, snow began to fall from the sky.

"Haku…" Mieko muttered, she looked on with saddened eyes as her sensei placed Zabuza beside his pupil.

"You were always at my side…" Zabuza whispered to the lifeless Haku "the least I could do is to be beside you at the end" the forced his hand up to touch Haku's hair "I know I cannot be…I wish I could go to where you have gone" he touched the side of Haku's cheek softly "how I wish I could join you there…Haku" his took one last breath before the light left his body, Naruto sniffed before speaking.

"He told me…where he came from, it was always snowing…all the time…"

"Of course" Kakashi began "his spirit was as pure as snow…you never know Zabuza…maybe you will join him there."

The leaf Ninja carried Haku's and Zabuza's bodies to the edge of a cliff that overlooked the village where they buried their bodies side by side "Is that really it Kakashi sensei" Sakura broke the silence.

"Hmm?"

"Is that really the ninja way" she turned away from the graves to look at her sensei "to use and be used by people like tools?"

"Shinobi are all merely tools in the hand of destiny" he replied softly "No point wondering whether it's right or wrong…it just is, it's the same in the village hidden in the leaves."

"Well if you ask me if that is all a ninja really is then something is out of whack" Naruto said angrily "Is that why we go through all this training? Just to end up like them" he pointed to the two graves.

"What is the reason for that?" Sasuke asked.

"Huu well…it's a question without an answer, and that is something we ninja have to deal with every day of our lives…like Zabuza…and the kid."

"It is a choice that is made for us by others…we have no choice which way our blade is pointed so long as it is pointed where our destinies tell it to point, that is the ninja way" Mieko spoke calmly, her hand never leaving Sasuke's.

"Ok then!"

"Huh?" everyone looked at Naruto who turned back to face them, a look of determination showing on his face.

"I've just come to a decision…from now on, I'm finding my own ninja way, a way that is straight and true and without any regrets…from now on I'm following the way of Naruto!" Kakashi smiled and laughed.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"We could never have finished the bridge without you" Tazuna spoke as they all stood before the finished bridge "I can't tell you how we're going to miss you."

"You be careful" Tsunami said sweetly to the five ninja who were all packed and ready to go, Mieko was wearing one of Sakura's dresses that was too large for the pinkette to wear. She had no idea why Sakura brought dresses on the mission when she knew she didn't fit them, maybe she was going to stuff her bra with socks so it looked like her breasts were bigger.

"Thank you for everything" Kakashi replied back.

"Now now don't get all chocked up, we'll come back real soon" Naruto said happily to Inari.

"You swear you will?" the little boy asked hopefully.

"Of course, you know Inari its ok to cry if you want there nothing wrong with that, go for it" Naruto replied back, trying not to cry himself.

"Who said I'm going to cry and if there's nothing wrong with it why don't you cry?"

"Ya, you first!" it was silent for a moment before both of them began crying.

"Idiots" Mieko mumbled with a small smile, she followed the rest of her team back to their home as they walked on The Great Naruto Bridge.

Naruto laughed to his team mates as he said, "as soon as we get back I'm going to get Iruka sensei to get me a whole lot of ramen to celebrate a mission accomplished-ooh and wait until I tell Konohamaru about all my adventures, the kids gonna worship me."

"Hey" Sakura called out.

"Yeah?"

"Not you Naruto" the boy pouted "Sasuke, when we get back you wanna go out and do something together?" she asked hopefully, her heart was beating widely in the hopes of being alone with the love of her life.

"I don't think so, I just wanna stay home and get Mieko to cook me something."

"Who said I was going to cook you anything?"

"You're a better cook than me."

"So?"

"I'd rather have a good meal than a slightly less than good meal."

"That's a terrible reason" she muttered but she still agreed to cook.

"I'll go do something with you Sakura?"

"Hey that was a private conversation! Beat it!" Sakura yelled and threw Naruto off the bridge.

"Sakura don't throw him off the bridge!"Mieko ordered.

"Ah sorry Mieko!"

Kakashi smiled and laughed at his student's conversation "I have a great team."


	13. I want my baby to be a Chunin

Mieko opened the door to Sasuke's home and walked straight into the kitchen where she smelt a pleasant smell of food, standing at the stove was Sasuke "I thought you didn't like cooking?" Sasuke turned his head to the side to smirk.

"I didn't know when you were coming home and I was bored."

"You don't have to defend yourself I like it when you cook" she sat on the chair at the dining table and watched him cook, she liked watching the look of determination on his face as he tried to make the food perfect, it wasn't one filled with anger and hate that he always has when training or fighting.

"Why, because all I ever do is train?"

"Precisely, seeing you do something less…stressful, is very pleasing" Sasuke chuckled and shook his head.

"So how were the Suna kids?" at the mention of the sand kids her smirk dropped.

"I don't like them" she watched as he placed their food on two separate plates "especially the girl" the Uchiha male placed a plate in from of Mieko before sitting on the chair next to her.

"Why would you not like her more than the others, I thought you would dislike the boy with the face paint more" he tilted his head to the side when he noticed a small blotch of pink beginning to spread across her cheeks "Mieko?"

"It's nothing Sasuke, it's a silly reason" the whitette stuffed a whole heap of food into her mouth so she did not have to reply, she really did not want to tell Sasuke that she was acting really possessive, once she had calmed down she waked back home in shock as she realised how…dark and evil she acted, she could not believe she threatened to stab Temari's eyes out if she so much as looked at Sasuke again, she never been that possessive of something before and she really did not like it.

"We don't keep secrets from each other Mieko" he had a small glare on his face, not one of anger but of annoyance, he hated not knowing what went on in Mieko's head, you could say he was a little bit possessive of her and has been for quite some time, even before the…massacre he was possessive and he would never stop being possessive.

Mieko sighed, knowing he was right, they promised long ago that they would never keep anything from each other, neither wanted a repeat of what happens when you keep secrets from the people you love "I…didn't like the way she was looking at you" she muttered, hoping that he couldn't hear but judging from the small quirk of his lips she could tell he did.

"So you were jealous?" she glared.

"Is that so wrong, am I supposed to ignore a foreign girl trying to flirt with you?"

"That wasn't what I meant Mieko" he looked at her with a raised eyebrow "I was surprised that you were jealous, you normally don't care if a girl tries to flirt with me, you only get angry when Sakura takes it too far."

"I don't get angry because I know the girls of Konoha, sure they flirt but they will never be with you but…I don't know the personality of the girl from Suna, she's older than me and has more experience in…romantic entanglements" Mieko looked away, not liking the feel of embarrassment. Sure she had a huge crush on someone when she was little but she's never been in a relationship before, all these new emotions and feelings were overwhelming and they constantly battle with her logic and reason, a ninja must not let their emotions become them, that rule seemed so easy to follow when she joined the ninja academy but recently it was getting harder and harder to follow it. Her father always told her that emotions and logic go hand in hand in making the perfect Shinobi but she never agreed with him until that moment.

"And you think that her tactics will work on me and I will go chasing her like Sakura would to me?" Sasuke looked at her as if she was crazy, she didn't even try to win his affections and yet she did because of who she was so how could some Suna floozy steal his heart when she actually tried! He understood her insecurities, he too was new to the feelings of love and affection and though they were not in love yet the feelings were developing. "Mieko, you won my affection by being you so stop being stupid and show pride that you caught the heart of the stoic Sasuke Uchiha" he smirked when he heard Mieko's soft giggle.

"You're right…I was being stupid and I'm sorry" she turned to him and cupped his cheek "I'm new to dating so these feelings can get a little overwhelming."

"It's fine Mieko" he brought his larger hand up to cover her own "we can work through this together, alright?" she nodded and shyly crept towards him so she could press her rosy lips against his, he smirked in satisfaction that his words worked and pulled Mieko closer so he could make her dizzy, he knew how to make a girl swoon, he wouldn't admit it to anyone but he used to watch… **him** kiss his girlfriend so he knew to some degree how to kiss and judging by the shivering and slight mewling and purring Mieko was making he knew he was doing something right. Once the need for air was evident he pulled away so he could marvel at his masterpiece "Now enough talk of jealousy and other Kunoichi, let's finish dinner before it gets cold" Mieko nodded silently, not trusting her voice for it would probably sound airy and breathless.

* * *

The next day Squad Seven met at the bridge once more, waiting for their lazy sensei to arrive as Kakashi asked them to yesterday, it was quiet for the first hour, the quartet knew Kakashi was late so they stood there silently…well until Sakura snapped. "AAAAAAARGGGHHH! WHY, WHY, WHY, it's ALWAYS THE SAME! HE SETS THE TIME AND WE HAVE TO WAIT HOURS FOR HIM!"

"It's not fair!" Naruto decided to join in.

"What about my feelings, I rushed here so fast I didn't have time to blow dry my hair!" Sakura whined as she tried to straighten the curls and bits of pink hair sticking up in random placed.

"You blow dry your hair?" Mieko asked, more to herself, she pulled her hair in front of her and noticed it was perfectly straight, shiny and neat and all she did was towel dry her hair when she was finished in the shower.

"It's the feline genes" Sasuke commented, finding small amusement in Mieko's confusion, she knew nothing about how to be a girl and yet she looked absolutely perfect.

"Yeah, and I didn't have time to brush my teeth or change my underwear!" Sakura stopped glaring at the sky to look at Naruto in disgust.

"You-uhh didn't? that's really disgusting Naruto" Mieko shook her head, it was too early for those two to start driving the couple up the wall. She was truly thankful when Kakashi finally arrived.

"Hey, good morning everyone" Kakashi spoke cheerfully "Sorry I'm late, I'm afraid I got lost on the path of life."

"YOU LIAR!" both Sakura and Naruto screamed whilst pointing at him, Kakashi ignored their shouting and landed in front of his students.

"I know this is a bit sudden but I recommended you to the Chunin exams, I have been able to get special consideration to have a four-membered team when it's usually meant to be three, there are a lot more candidates this year so it was not a big issue" he pulled out a small pile of papers "here are the application forms."

"Application forms?"

"You're repeating me Sakura. This is all voluntary, it's all up to each of you if you're not ready you can wait until next year."

"Alright!" Naruto cheered "Kakashi sensei you rock" he launched himself towards Kakashi and hugged him tightly.

"Don't slobber on my vest!" Kakashi scolded and pushed Naruto away "Whoever wants to take the exams sign the application and come to room 301 at the academy, it's at 3 pm 5 days from now."

"Sweet" Mieko muttered to Sasuke.

"I'll see you all in three days, be ready" Kakashi looked at Mieko "I'll see you for dinner tonight" she nodded and watched him disappear.

"Chunin exams, I'll be up against a lot of really wicked ninja" Naruto spoke to himself out loud as they all walked away from the bridge together _'like the guy with the mummy on his back, and of course mister attitude…then Mieko can see he's not a good ninja!'_ he pictured himself standing before a fallen Sasuke and Kankuro with Mieko and Sakura hanging off his arms, he then started picturing himself winning the exams and becoming Hokage with Mieko as his wife and the mother of his two children.

Sasuke was deep in thought as well, the only person he wanted to fight was Gaara, to prove that he was the strongest ninja and he wanted to beat the guy down for looking at Mieko yesterday, yeah he knew that look, he's seen that look on plenty of guys faces both young and old when Mieko walked past them. She really was too unique and beautiful for her age, that was the only thing he disliked about her, she was too gorgeous.

Sakura was standing in the middle, feeling depressed _'this is hopeless, I can't keep up with Sasuke and Mieko, I can't even beat Naruto, I'll never pass these exams'_ she looked at the ground and sighed dejectedly, the plan of making Sasuke see she was the better Ninja wasn't working out very well.

Mieko was looking forward, thinking on whether she should do the exam, she could do it and see everyone fight but on the other hand she really did not want to see the injuries that people will sustain, Kakashi had taken her to see the Chunin exams before, too many people were killed and others were severely wounded…she did not want to see Sasuke or Naruto in the same state or dead _'but if I join the exams with them then I can prevent that'_ with her mind made up she followed the Sasuke back to his place for the day. After hanging out with Sasuke she hurried home so she could have dinner with her father and talk to him about the exams "Hey papa?"

"Hmm?" Kakashi hummed but did not look up from his pervert book.

"Do you think I'm ready for the Chunin exams?" she asked hesitantly from the other side of their couch, she hoped her father should she was ready, she would feel horrible if he thought she wasn't good or strong enough.

Kakashi noticed his daughter's hesitation and placed his book down on his lap, he turned to her and smiled with his mask off, she was the only person that was allowed to see his face "you have been ready to take the exams since you were 9" Mieko blinked in surprise "you are a prodigy, much like I was when I was your age."

"If that's the case, why didn't I graduate early and take the exams?"

"Because we are not in a war, this is a time of peace. We have no need of prodigies. I wanted you to live your life like every other ninja child, I made sure the school did not graduate you early so you could become a Genin with people of your own age. It was planned years ago that you would be part of a group with Sasuke and Naruto."

She agreed with his reasons for keeping her in school, she has hated graduating early because she wouldn't be able to see Sasuke and Naruto as much as she wants. She wouldn't have been able to see Kakashi that much either, it was really in her best interest to stay in school with people her own age "So you really think I should sign the form?"

Kakashi nodded encouragingly "of course, no one deserves to be there more than you. I'm proud of you kitten" she smiled and crawled into his lap, her head laid on his chest and her body curled into a ball.

"You are the greatest dad anyone could have."

"You are the greatest daughter anyone could have" she giggled and let out a large yawn before closing her eyes and falling asleep. Kakashi smiled down at his daughter and stroked her hair, making her purr loudly. He was glad he was sent on the mission to investigate Orochimaru hideout if he didn't then he wouldn't have found Mieko and would not have adopted her. He would never regret adopting her at such a young age, she made his life better and his days brighter.

He stroked her hair as he picked up his book and continued reading.

* * *

People from all ninja lands were coming from miles and miles just to bear witness to the Chunin exams. Ninjas of all ages were strolling around proudly, they were ready to make their villages proud and show the other pathetic villages who the elite was. Jounin's and Anbu were standing on top of the buildings overlooking the foreigners coming to Konoha whilst the Chunin's where escorting the ninja to their rooms and answering all questions thrown at them, this went on for days and Konoha was filling up quick, the market stalls and shops were ecstatic at the new costumers that overflowed their stores, things were going out of stock quickly and workers had to continuously go to storage to resupply, it was a busy time but no one was complaining.

Whilst all the streets were full Naruto decided to take a walk alone in a more secluded area to clear his head "Hey Naruto!" Konohamaru called alongside his two companions "Come and play ninja with us pleeease!" he begged.

"Suuure! I don't have any dangerous ninja missions so no problem!" Naruto replied with fake enthusiasm.

"Excellent!" the trio cheered but stopped when a strange man appeared behind them, Moegi, a cute girl with big pigtails screamed as she was grabbed "Ahh Naruto!" she called out for help as she wriggled in the man's grasp "Konohamaru help!"

"What are you doing with Moegi you big slug!" Konohamaru screamed angrily, Naruto ran forth.

"Let her go NOOOWW!" the guy merely laughed and ran away with the screaming girl "Come on Konohamaru!" Naruto jumped onto the archways and chased after the man, Konohamaru and Udon nodded and chased after him so they could help their friend.

* * *

"Urg Chunin exams" Sakura was sitting on top of a building by herself, ever since she was told about the exams she couldn't stop thinking about it, she wanted to join but she didn't think she would last five minutes.

"Hey" a voice broke her out of her thoughts, she gasped and turned to see Sasuke looking down at her, a Sasuke who was alone…Perfect!

"Sasuke! What's up?" she asked, hoping this alone time could work in her favour.

"Let's take a walk, just you and me" Sakura's eyes widened when she heard those words, did he really mean it? Did he finally realise that she was the better girl? Did he leave Mieko so he could be with her?

"No way, you mean it?" she asked hopefully, she immediately jumped down and followed the boy to wherever he was going.

Sakura soon began to wonder where they were going as heavy fog surrounded them "Umm Sasuke? How come all of a sudden...you know, wanna walk with me?"

"Because I need to tell you to give up on the Chunin exams" Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks "there's no way you can pass them Sakura."

"I was afraid of that" she replied with barely any emotions "You're right."

"These ninjas are very advanced and have no mercy, if you try to fight them you could lose your life" Sasuke turned to face the pinkette.

"But Sasuke, you're telling me this because you care about me!"

"I ahh, guess that's true" he replied with one of his small smiles.

A deep and sinister laugh echoed through the fog "two sweethearts, how touching" a man replied from behind Sasuke, the ravenette narrowed his eyes, annoyed at the man for thinking they were together.

"Get lost unless you wanna die" he warned.

"Talk is cheap!" the man jumped into the air and threw several shuriken towards Sasuke, he pulled out a kunai and blocked them before he ran forth to attack the man.

"Now I'm really mad."

"Be careful Sasuke!" Sakura cried.

Sasuke ran forth and threw a kunai to block the man's larger one "No way!" he gasped when the kunai broke in hundreds and came straight towards him.

"Sasuke!" when the dust cleared she saw her crushes body riddled with kunai "Sasuke…SASUKE!" she ran towards him, praying that he was alive, she knelt over him and began to cry loudly.

"He's finished" the man who attacked Sasuke stated proudly with a malicious chuckle as he looked at his accomplishment "and that's how you'll end up if you enter the Chunin exams."

"Oh Sasuke SASUKE! Ha" she moved back up to show her normal face, her eyes were not red and no tears were staining her face "I saw through that cheap genjutsu at the first moment."

"What!?" the man cried in shock, Sakura stood up, glaring at the man.

"Sasuke inviting me out! Then acting like he's all worried about me yeah right like he'd ever do that, and he never walks around the village unless Mieko is right beside him, that was a mistake, you thought I'd fall for that?"

"Are you calling me a fool!?"

"I would if you were really here but your just an illusion, the real ninja ran away like a coward so you're just the illusion of a coward!"

The man started to cackle madly "are you sure I'm not real!?" the man pulled out another large kunai and threw it towards the pinkette, she walked forward completely calm as the weapon passed through her.

"Yeah, I'm sure" the man started laughing again.

"Just what I'd expect from a Kunoichi trained by Kakashi, but the Chunin exams will be more than illusions, we'll see if you can cut it" the man faded away as if he was never there.

"You don't scare me!" she brought her fists up "Illusions or not bring it on, the Chunin exams! Big bad Chunin exam!" she slumped her shoulders when the adrenalin disappeared "actually I'm really worried about them."

Over in the woods, Sasuke was beating the crap out another one of these men "Stay out of our village" he said calmly, though his words were deep and intimidating.

"That was hot" Mieko muttered from beside him, she had stayed back and allowed Sasuke to take the man on himself.

"Did you have to destroy the moment Mieko?"

"You know I like a man who can defeat an enemy with one kick" she shrugged as if it was nothing "can we go home now, I didn't get to do anything but stay back and watch" Sasuke shook his head and grabbed her hand.

"If you can think of something interesting to do before we get home then we can do that" she nodded and walked beside him.

* * *

Kakashi sat on a building as each of his team members defeated their enemy, he spoke when a man appeared behind him "so how did it go?" he asked the masked man.

"They all made it, your squad and the others, all 9 Genin proved themselves ready for the exam" the man replied, a cloud covered his body and Iruka stood in his place "You were right Kakashi, they're good, they've all developed very impressive skills."

"Hmmm but the Chunin exams can break anyone, we'll see if they can tough it out."

The next day was the Chunin exams, Sakura was walking towards her group slowly, almost hesitantly "Sakura you're late!" Naruto yelled as she stopped before the trio.

"Sorry guys" she looked over at Sasuke and remembered the illusion of him dead on the ground "good morning Sasuke."

"Yeah..." he replied, though he was curious about her behaviour _'what's up with her, she's different.'_

"Come on let's get inside" Mieko spoke, she had decided that if Sasuke and Naruto where joining then so would she. The quartet walked inside to see two ninjas on the ground from being hit by two guys standing in front of room 301.

"Chunin are qualified to lead missions, the lives of your squad members are in your hands," one of the guys said to the small group "delicate little girls don't belong here."

"We're just thinning out the heard and you won't pass anyway so go home and play with your dolls."

"Ooohh let me kill him" Mieko went to punch the guy's lights out but Sasuke stopped her.

"Let me handle it, I don't want you actually killing him" she nodded and followed him "real nice speech" he called out to the two ninja blocking the door, his hands were in his pockets and an emotionless expression graced his face "Now both of you step aside and let me through, and while you're at it reverse the genjutsu, I can see through your illusion anyway."

"We're going to the third floor" Mieko replied as she stood beside him clad in her most intimidating outfit. She wore a thick black choker and a tight, long sleeved scarlet shirt with black gloved and black leather pants with combat boots with hidden spiked installed on the front and back of the base of the shoe. Her shirt had hidden kunais on each wrist and pouches attached to her belt that had smoke pellets and poison needles. Her hair was put up into a bun with two chop sticks stab through them, they were sharpened and filed to a point and doused with a poison that Kakashi created. She decided to have her ninja headband on her forehead instead of on top of her head. She was covered in weapons from head to toe as her father believed she would have to kill people in one of the tests.

"Well, well" a kid with big spiky hair drawled towards Sasuke.

"So you noticed the genjutsu huh?" the boy on the left with a headband continued.

"Go ahead, tell them Sakura, I'm sure you saw it before anyone else did" Sasuke called out to the pinkette, trying to boost her confidence. They were a team, he couldn't afford to have a weak member, Naruto was bad enough.

"Huh?"

"You have the sharpest eyes and the best analytical skills in our squad you must have seen this coming a mile away" Sakura looked at him dumbly.

"I must have? Well sure, of course, I spotted it right away this is only the second floor" she replied smugly though she wasn't very convincing.

"Right" Naruto chipped in, trying to be smart.

The two ninjas removed the genjutsu and the sign that once said 301 now said 201 "well aren't we the smart ones, so you noticed the illusion-now let's see you deal with this!" the guy on the right brought his knee up to strike Sasuke who in turn did the same, before everyone eyes landed a boy in a green jumpsuit blocked their attack.

"That was awesome" Mieko commented as she stood in front of the green guy, she didn't move away when the attack started and was surprised when the green guy appeared, when Sasuke pulled his leg away he grabbed Mieko's hand and pulled her next to him.

"Hey what happened to the plan?" a guy with brown hair spoke, "I thought you were the one who said to keep a low profile and don't let anyone see out real skill level."

"I know but-" the green guy stopped and looked at Mieko, a blush staining his face, he stood up straight and walked up to the Uchiha female "My name is Rock Lee, you are Mieko Hatake right?"

"Yes last time I checked" the boy winked at her and gave her a thumbs up.

"Please be my girlfriend-"

"No-" Sasuke began.

"I vow to protect you with my life" Mieko could have sworn she saw his teeth sparkle.

"Uhh, no sorry" the boy looked defeated.

"Why?"

"I already have a boyfriend" he lowered his head in defeat.

"Naruto began laughing as he watched Lee look sad and Sasuke look mad.

"Hey you, over here" the guy with the brown hair called to Sasuke "what's your name?"

"It's common courtesy to give your own name before asking someone else's" Sasuke shot back, he pulled Mieko behind him so the brown haired guy wouldn't look at her.

"You're a rookie aren't you, and your girlfriends that prodigy daughter of the Copy Cat ninja" he looked over Sasuke's shoulder and saw Mieko waving at him "How old are you anyway?"

"I'm not obliged to answer" the guy narrowed his eyes.

"What's that?" Mieko glared at the girl with the buns on either side of her head giggled and shot a cute look at Sasuke.

 _'_ _Goddammit not again!'_ sometimes Mieko wished Sasuke wasn't so attractive, she followed after Sasuke as he turned and walked away.

"Hey Naruto, Mieko, Sasuke let's go" Sakura called out to her team members, she saw a fight brewing and didn't want to be late.

"My exams never had this much drama" Mieko muttered to Sasuke who smirked in her direction.

"Our entire lives have always been full of Drama."


	14. I am proud of my baby

Mieko walked beside her team into room 301 "Hey you, with the attitude!" the quartet turned around to see the boy in the green jumpsuit, Rock Lee, standing above them.

"Oh boy" Mieko sighed, this was not going to end well.

"What do you want?" asked Sasuke in his bored and uninterested tone.

"I want to fight, right here and right now" the older teen demanded.

"You wanna fight me here and now huh?"

"Yes," Lee jumped down and landed perfectly "my name is Rock Lee" he pointed to Sasuke, "you said it was common courtesy for a challenger to give his own name first, right? Sasuke Uchiha" Sasuke raised his eyes slightly in interest.

"Huh, so you know me?" everyone watched ad Lee bent his knees and moved into a fighting position.

"I challenge you, everyone is always talking about the Uchiha clan and how great they are, I was to see if it is true, I figured you would be a good test for me" his circular eyes slid over to Mieko "and also…oh, Mieko…I love you!" his cheeks turned red and Sakura screamed in terror at how strange Lee looked.

"Those eyebrows can't be real!" she screamed

"Umm you're weird and I don't like your hairstyle" Mieko looked at him like she was slightly afraid of this bushy-eyebrowed teen.

"You are an angel sent from heaven!" he blew a kiss at the whitette whose entire body bristled and tense.

"I'm not catching that kiss!"

"Hey keep your creepy little valentine to yourself!" Sakura screamed, even she thought Lee was a little too creepy.

"You don't have to be so negative Sakura" Mieko chided, she wasn't that mean.

"You've heard of the Uchiha clan and yet you're challenging me?" He really wanted to fight this guy, he blew kisses at his girl! He was going to pummel this guy to the ground for even looking at Mieko with his freakishly large eyes! "You must be even more psycho then you look, if that's possible" he looked at Lee darkly "you wanna know more about my clan then I'll teach you, the hard way."

Lee smirked "bring it on."

"Hold it!" the group stopped staring at each other and turned to Naruto "I get him first, this weirdo is mine!"

"Go for it" Sasuke muttered, watching as his teammate stepped forward.

"It will take me two minutes to make this guy beg for mercy."

"No thank you, the only one I want to fight is Uchiha."

"Yeah! Well, I got news for you!" Naruto began to charge "Sasuke can't compare to me Believe it!" the blonde Genin launched forward with his fist raised towards Lee, he roared as he got closer. Lee kept his composure and used his hand to jab at the fist that was coming to his direction, he dodged Naruto's kick and sent him flying into the fall behind him, the trio watching the fight and looked at him in surprise.

"Just accept it, you are no match for me your skills are inferior" Lee turned his focus back on Sasuke "you see Sasuke, out of all the leaf Genin I am the best, fight me and I will prove it to you."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes _'he stopped my kick, that's some chakra he's got in his arm'_ he looked up to Lee and smirked "this will be fun, let's do it" like Lee, he moved into a fighting stance.

"There's no time Sasuke, we've got to register by three o'clock and that's less than half an hour" Mieko was surprised that Sakura would speak against anything that Sasuke would do, she has always supported Sasuke.

"She has a point Sasuke" Mieko agreed, she did not want Sasuke to fail when he has worked so hard to get here.

"Relax this will all be over…in five seconds" he raced forward with incredible speed, he punched where Lee was standing only to hit nothing. Lee had moved faster than Sasuke had, his speed was so amazing that it looks as though he teleported.

"Leaf hurricane!" Sasuke barely managed to dodge Lee's kick, he was shocked that this teenager was so fast. He brought his hands up to block what he thought was a punch but as quick as lightening Lee brought his leg out and kicked Sasuke into the air.

"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed, watching as her beloved fell to the ground. Mieko stood still, grinding her teeth, she wanted to beat Lee to a bloody pulp but knew that it would embarrass Sasuke if his girlfriend defended him. She watched helplessly as Sasuke forced himself to stand.

"I've been waiting to try this out" Sasuke looked up from the floor with red eyes, his Sharingan activated. Mieko looked on proudly whilst Sakura looked at Sasuke in awe and love, Lee remained unfazed and Naruto was still knocked out. Once again Sasuke raced forward, determined to win against the annoying teen, he ran with more speed than he did the first time, his determination seeping into every step that brought him closer to destroying Lee.

He got kicked in the face again and sent flying into the air, Mieko took action and knelt before Sasuke when he landed on the floor "You see my technique is not Ninjutsu or Genjutsu" now it was his turn to attack, the other members of team 7 watched on helplessly as Sasuke barely managed to block Lee's attacks "You get it now Sasuke, I'm using Taijutsu so that means no tricks" he appeared behind Sasuke "it is just straight martial arts nothing more."

"Why you!" Sasuke swung his fast behind him and missed.

"I know your technique, forget it, it will not work not on me I know you can see through your opponent's Jutsu, that Sharingan gives you the ability to read chakra and decipher his hand signs and movements, you can guess what someone is about to do almost before he knows it himself" Mieko didn't like this guy, he was taunting Sasuke, speaking in a tone that made it sound like he was telling Sasuke he was weak "The problem is Taijutsu is a little more different."

"Right so what's your point?" said Sasuke angrily, he really wanted to defeat this guy.

"I do not try to hide or disguise my moves, I do not have to, even if you can read them you cannot stop them you are too slow, your eyes may be quick enough to stay two steps ahead of me but if your body cannot keep up then what good does it do…you know what, here is what I believe, there is two different kinds of ninja, those like you who are born with talent and not have to work at it" Sasuke heard enough and ran forward to attack "and then there are those like me, the ones who have to train every day of our lives" Lee dodged Sasuke's attacks as he spoke "the fact is your Sharingan is no match for my extreme Taijutsu, here is what I mean!" he moved into attack, he kicked Sasuke in the face and raced after him, he moved behind him and unravelled his bandages around his arms.

"Dancing leaf shadow" Sasuke growled as he soared through the air.

"Good eye, now I will prove my point that hard work beats natural talent, you're finished!" yelled Lee just as a miniature windmill went soaring into the air and stuck Lee's bandages into the wall, all ninjas looked to where the weapon flew from in shock. Before them stood a red turtle outlined in yellow swirls and had a Leaf ninja headband wrapped around his neck.

"Alright that's enough! Lee!" the teen the green jumpsuit moved to the turtle and left Sasuke soaring through the air.

"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed, watching helplessly as Mieko raced forward and caught Sasuke in her arms, the whitettes grunted as their bodies collided together.

"Are you ok?" Mieko asked, concern was evident in her tone.

"Yeah I'm fine" replied Sasuke, he allowed Mieko to help him to his feet as he watched Lee kneel before the turtle.

"You…you were watching us the whole time?" Lee asked the turtle hesitantly.

"Of course! That last technique is forbidden you know that!"

"The turtle…talks" Mieko spoke slowly, she honestly did now know if she was knocked out when she caught Sasuke or not. She has seen talking dogs and cat's but never a turtle.

"I am sorry I did not mean to…" Lee trailed off, unable to think of a good enough excuse, he shrieked when the turtle glared at him "I was not planning to use a forbidden Jutsu, I was just in the middle of a fight and I mean you must understand I thought you would be honoured!" he kept going on and on coming up with new excuses each time.

"Hey, you guys!" Naruto shouted to his teammates as he ran to him.

"What Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"That weird thing he's talking to his a turtle" he pointed to Lee and the turtle.

"Yes Naruto, that is a turtle" Mieko spoke slowly like she was talking to a baby so he would understand what she was saying.

"Maybe that means that turtles can be Sensei's too."

"You're a disgrace!" the turtle shouted, ending all conversations, "you think you'll get away with a lame excuse like that, a Shinobi never reveals his techniques only when it is absolutely necessary it's such a basic rule you should know it by now!"

"Forgive me, sir."

"Are you prepared to take the punishment for your actions!"

"I…yes sir."

"Alright then please come out…Gai Sensei!" a puff of smoke exploded around the turtle and out came an older man in a green jumpsuit that had the same hairstyle and eyebrows/eyes as Lee.

"Heeeey what's shaken! How you doing everybody!" Team 7 looked at the older man in fear.

"He's got the biggest eyebrows yet!" Naruto screamed, "they're almost alive!"

"Hi Lee" Gai smiled and a shine glinted off his teeth.

"Too weird," Sakura said.

"You got that right" agreed Mieko.

"So that is where Lee gets it from" Naruto began "Same soup bowl haircut and even bushier eyebrows" Lee whirled around and glared at Naruto.

"Hey do not insult Gai Sensei he's one of the greatest men in the entire world!"

"Well excuse me for not seeing his greatness I was too busy watching him crawl out of a turtle!"

"He did not crawl out!"

"Give it a rest Lee" Lee stopped yelling and faced his Sensei.

"Yes sir!"

"Now for your punishment! AHHH!" he punched Lee straight in the face and sent him flying "You are a fool!" once Lee fell to the floor he walked over to him and knelt down "I'm sorry Lee…it's for your own good" he started crying.

"Sen-Sensei!" Lee began crying too

"Oh Lee!"

"Oh Sensei, I am…so sorry!"

"Alright it's over, you don't need to say anymore" the two men in jumpsuits hugged each other and cried.

"I'm scared now" Mieko shivered and stepped closer to Sasuke, she could usually handle creepiness but this was too much to handle.

"I think it's kinda sweet how they're all huggie and stuff," Naruto said.

"What you gotta be kidding me their both crazy!" Sakura screamed in disbelief as she stared at the two strange men.

"You just caught in-between, you're too old to be called a boy but too young to be called a man."

"You are so good to me, Gai Sensei."

"Now take off, I want you to give me 100 laps around the practice field, show me what you got!"

"Yes sir, no problem!"

"Run into the setting sun! run and suffer…but don't mess up your hair, let us go."

"Right!"

"Hey wait a minute we're not finished here!" Naruto interrupted "You guys can't just take off like that."

"And what about the Chunin exams there's no time for fooling around!" The pinkette yelled.

"Oh, right I forgot about that" Gai smoothed his hair "Lee you not only disobeyed the rule you disrupted the Chunin exams, I think that warrants a slightly more severe punishment don't you?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Let's say 500 laps how does that sound?"

"Outstanding sir" Team 7 looked like they had given up on understanding those two.

"They're insane."

"Probably but never mind them what's the deal with that turtle anyway" Gai looked at Naruto when he spoke.

"Tell me, how is Kakashi Sensei?"

"Do you know him?" asked Sasuke

"Do I know Kakashi? People say he and I are arch enemies for all eternity"

"There's just no way!" Sakura and Naruto screamed and Mieko muttered bullshit under her breath. She knew Gai sensei since she was a baby, he never one a single 'competition' he created, Kakashi barely acknowledged him.

"How dare you! If Gai Sensei says it is true then-"

"Let it slide Lee" interrupted Gai "A ninja's actions speak louder than words" tea 7 gasped when Gai disappeared, "I think it's 50 wins and 49 losses, which is one better than his by the way" the quartet turned around to stare at Gai.

"What you're kidding! How'd he beat Kakashi!" Naruto yelled.

"The fact is I'm stronger than Kakashi" Gai pointed to himself and grinned "And faster."

"You see" Lee spoke determinedly "Gai Sensei is the best there is."

"I'm sorry for the trouble Lee caused you, look into my eyes and accept my sincere apology also notice my handsome many features" Mieko gagged lightly.

"Papa is way more attractive…even with the mask" Mieko spoke but Gai ignored her.

"Lee you should accompany these fine young ninja to the classroom right now" Lee nodded and began winding up his bandages so they would cover the many bruises that littered his hands "remember to give it your best" Gai disappeared along with the turtle.

"Hey Sasuke" Lee called once his Sensei was gone "actually I have not been totally honest with you, I said I wanted to test my skills that is true enough but you are not the one I really wanted to test them against…I lied to you when we were fighting before, I said I was the best Genin here but there was another top ninja, someone on my own team, I came here to defeat him you were just practice, now you are a target and I will crush you, there you have it! Consider yourself warned" with those words he ran off.

"I hope he loses" Mieko growled, she did not like Lee. He beat up Sasuke and treated him like trash, she looked towards Naruto when he began speaking.

"How about that, looks like the Uchiha's aren't as great as everybody thinks they are."

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed.

"Just shut up!" shouted Sasuke "next time I will drive him to his knees."

"Yeah right, who just got his butt kicked."

"Stop it, what are you saying cut it out Naruto" Sakura growled angrily to the blonde.

"Shut up the both of you!" Mieko yelled, startling the duo, she had never risen her voice like that "Naruto stop egging Sasuke on and Sakura shut the hell up before I stitch your mouth shut" she really wasn't in the mood to listen to those to squabble like a pair of children.

"You saw his hands didn't you?" Naruto continued despite Mieko yelling "when he took off the tape, I bet old bushy brow has been training until he drops day in and day out, he trains harder than you...that's all I'm saying" Sasuke glared at the floor, he didn't want to admit it but it was true, Lee did train harder than him, sure he trained but he wasn't as good as that freak. He was born with natural talent but he barely strengthened that, even Mieko trained harder than him, she used to come to his house with bloodied knuckles and skinned knees and other injuries because she trained so hard, he would be a too if he trained as much as her.

"Fine" Sasuke spook after a long moment of silence "this day is starting to get interesting" the Uchiha smirk graced his face once again, something that Mieko was glad for "the Chunin exams, can't wait to see what's next."

"Right."

"And they haven't even started yet."

"Yeah."

"Let's get started, Mieko, Naruto, Sakura"

"YEAH!" together team 7 entered the Chunin exams.

The fun had only just begun.


	15. My baby starts the Chunin exam

After the crushing defeat by the hands of Rock Lee, team 7 stood before room 301 with an array of different emotion within them but on the outside, they showed a look of determination. They would become Chunins no matter what. Mieko stood next to Naruto as a silent yet supportive companion, she wanted her and her team to become Chunins, she has become rather close to the team despite her constant feelings off annoyance whenever Sakura spoke or Naruto did something stupid and she had to clean up his mess.

"Glad you came Sakura" Kakashi spoke from in front of them, he too wore a serious expression though you could only tell by his narrowed eye and lowered brow "For your sake and the others" the three Genin looked at their Sensei in confusion "Now you can all formally register for the Chunin exam."

"Why what do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"You see, only groups of three or in this case four are allowed to apply for and take the exams that's the way it's always been."

"But Sensei" Sakura began, "You said the decision to take the exam was up to the individual."

"That's right, I did."

"Was that a lie?" Kakashi looked off to the side.

"Sort of" he replied as he looked over the village through the windows "it is an individual's decision but it affects all of you, I didn't tell you before because I didn't want the others guys pressuring you" Sakura looked at her two male teammates, knowing they would be the ones to pressure her "At the same time, I didn't want you to feel obliged to participate because of the feelings you might have for Sasuke" Kakashi ignored the glare Mieko shot his way "Or Naruto, I wanted you to come to the decision on your own free will."

"Wait a minute" Sakura looked back at her Sensei with wide eyes "do you mean that if the others had shown up and I decided not to come with them-"

"It would have been the end of the line" Kakashi interrupted "If you hadn't come along I couldn't have let the others in, but it's a moot point, you're all here and for the right reasons" Mieko let a small smile show "Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke and Mieko" Kakashi's eye crinkled to show he was smiling "I'm proud of you, couldn't ask for a better team" he walked away from the door and stood to the side "Good luck, Mieko watch over them for me."

"Of course papa."

"We won't let you down Sensei believe it!" the quartet walked over to the door and pushed it open, they walked in without another word "W-woah what's this?" Naruto stuttered as he looked around the room.

"G-gee, I guess we're not alone" Genin from every village and all different ages and genders stared at the newcomers.

"Sasuke where have you been!" a voice shouted off to the side, a blonde haired girl jumped on Sasuke's back and hugged him tightly "Boy you have no idea how much I was hoping you'd show up here, I've missed those brooding looks of yours" Mieko began glaring at the blonde.

"Hey you porker back off he's mine!" Sakura shouted, Mieko's glare deepened and Naruto looked around nervously, was he the only one who could feel the female Hatake's murderous aura? .

"Oh miss forehead they let you in?" Ino sneered "still got those frown lines on that billboard brow I see."

"Leave my forehead out of it!" Ino poked her tongue at and gave Sakura a rude gesture.

"H-hey Ino you better let Sasuke go."

"Why do you care Naruto" Ino sneered.

"No reason just that umm…" he pointed to the glaring tiger "Sasuke is kinda Mieko's boyfriend" he looked off to the side, he didn't like admitting that but he'd rather let Ino know before she did something that made her lose her life.

"W-What!" Ino jumped back when she saw the murderous look Mieko was giving her "B-boyfriend!" Mieko grabbed Sasuke's arm and pulled him to her, her glare relaxed slightly when Sasuke wasn't being grabbed by the bimbo. Ino looked nervous, she could never beat Mieko to win Sasuke's love, if she knew that Mieko was competition then she would have tried harder.

"Oh great it's you guys" a voice said from behind them, breaking the glaring match between the three girls "I knew this was gonna be a drag but I didn't know it was going to be this lame" Shikamaru and Choji stood before them.

"Oh great, all three stooges are here" Naruto insulted, making Shikamaru glare.

"Hey you know what pipsqueak-ahh forget it you're a waste of time" she stopped glaring and stood next to Choji who continued to eat.

"Well, well whadya know it looks like the whole gang is back together" Kiba spoke when he reached the small group.

"Oh h-hi Naruto" Hinata stuttered softly, she blushed heavily when Naruto looked at her, Shino stood off to the side without saying a word.

"You guys too huh?" Shikamaru spoke in his bored tone, not like he had any other time of tone "man everyone else is here for this stupid thing."

"Yep, here we all are, the ten rookies" Kiba laughed "this is gonna be fun. just you wait were gunna blow you guys away" he said confidently "we've been training like crazy."

"Whadyou think we've been doing" Naruto shot back "Sittin' around picking daisy's" he pointed to Kiba "You don't know what training means!"

"Ahh don't mind Kiba" Hinata whispered "I'm sure he didn't really mean anything by it" she blushed when Naruto's attention turned back to her.

Off to the side Choji when to grab Akamaru to eat him when he was stopped by Shino "Huh? What do you want" Choji asked, thinking the weirdo was going to stop him from eating the dog, Shino said nothing and looked at the floor where a bug was crawling between them.

"Thought maybe you hadn't seen it" Choji looked at him like he was crazy "didn't want you stepping on it."

"Why you saving it for lunch?"

"Hey you guys" a random voice interrupted their conversation, a young adult walked over with silver hair and big round glasses "You might want to try keeping it down a little, I mean no offence but you're the nine rookies right? Fresh out of the academy? I wouldn't go making a spectacle out of yourselves, just cool it this isn't a class field trip, why don't you follow what your friend is doing" he pointed to Mieko who remained quiet this entire time, he looked at her strange extra features and blinked before smirking inwardly, so this was Orochimaru's long lost daughter…how interesting, the sanin will be pleased.

"Well, who asked you! Who are you!?" Ino shouted to the silver-haired man.

"I'm Kabuto Yakushi, but really, look around you" the groups eyes widened when they saw the angered faces on all the other Genin "You've made quite the impression" Sasuke glared at all the angry men and pulled Mieko as closed to him as possible, she may be skilled but she couldn't take on all these guys "See those guys, they're from the rain village and very touchy, they all are, this exam makes everyone tense and you don't want to rub them the wrong way right now."

"Oh" Sakura shivered.

"You can't help it, I mean how could you know how things work your just rookies, you remind me of myself a while back."

"Kabuto" Sakura looked at the silver-haired man suspiciously, she didn't like this guy "is that your name?"

"Yeah."

"This isn't the first time you've taken the exam?"

"No its…my seventh" Mieko raised a brow "Well they're held twice a year so this will be my fourth year."

"Wow a veteran" Sakura gasped, no longer finding the man suspicious "You must really be an expert by now."

"Yeah sort of."

"Cool you can give us all the inside tips!" Shouted Naruto excitedly.

"Yea some expert he's never passed" Drawled Shikamaru.

"Well seventh times the charm, that's what they say right?" Kabuto rubbed his neck embarrassedly.

"Its third times the charm" Mieko muttered.

"So I guess the rumours about the exam being hard is true" Shikamaru groaned "Oh man I knew this was gonna be a drag."

"Hang on don't give up hope yet, maybe I can help you kids out a little" Kabuto reached into his pocket and pulled out a deck of cards "With my ninja info cards" Mieko looked at the cards with narrowed eyes.

 _'He's not allowed to have them'_ she thought to herself _'only Anbu are allowed to have them and can only get them when approved by the Hokage himself…who is this guy?'_ she decided to keep her dangerous thoughts to herself, if this guy had those cards he had to be pretty powerful or have powerful allies that can make them, they require a mass amount of strength to be able to create them and steal a little chakra from said person to be able to show the information.

"What are ninja info cards?" Sakura asked, breaking Mieko out of her deep thoughts.

"It's hard to explain, these cards have been chakra encoded with everything I've learned over the past four years" he knelt down and placed the cards on the floor "I've got nearly two hundred of them so you see, I haven't been completely wasting my time, they may not look like much to the naked eye" he pulled out one of the cards and flipped it over "In fact they appear blank, don't want just anyone seeing this stuff" he placed a finger on the card and watched as it spun around.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked.

"You see I am placing my chakra in the card to reveal its secrets" the card exploded and words and pictures appeared "Like this for example."

"Awesome a map? Of what?" Sakura asked.

"It shows the geographical distribution of all the ninja who have come to take the exam, what villages they come from and how many from each village" Mieko tightened her hold on Sasuke's arm slightly, how was this man able to make his chakra expand without anyone noticing he was tapping into their own…it was impossible, he must have many allies to be able to do this on such short notice, it's only been two weeks and he has managed to get every single person's information.

Sasuke looked at Mieko's tense form and felt confused, she must know something that he didn't, he would ask her when they were alone "Why do you think they all come here to take the exam together at the same time" the group was silent, all you could hear was Choji munching on a bag of chips "it's to foster friendship between nations, of course, international brotherhood and all that and its true enough as far as it goes."

"But there's another reason" Sasuke caught on to what Kabuto was saying.

"Yeah, you see the important thing is this way they can carefully regulate the number of Shinobi they end up in each village thereby maintaining the balance of power."

"Oh yeah, the balance of power" Naruto tried to sound like he knew what Kabuto was speaking about but was failing horribly.

"Balance of power big deal it's all a drag" Kabuto touched the card and the map disappeared.

"If the balance isn't maintained one nation could wind up with more Shinobi than its neighbours and it might be tempted to attack them so they try to maintain the status quo makes sense, I suppose" Sasuke stepped towards Kabuto and pulled Mieko along with him.

"Does those cards have any information on any of the other candidates?" Mieko raised a brow at Sasuke's question "individually."

"They might, you have someone special in mind?"

"I might."

"Well I can't promise my information is complete or perfect but I have something on just about everyone, including you guys of course" Mieko's whole body tensed up, how was she not able to sense someone watching her, does Kabuto know about her inhuman senses, how long was he watching her "So which is it tell me anything you know about them, a description, where they're from, whatever" he pulled up a card "Anything at all."

"He's Gaara of the desert and there's Rock Lee of the leaf village while you at it" Sasuke spoke with a look of determination, he wanted to beat these two Ninja and crush them into the dirt.

"Man that's no fun you even know their names, that makes it easy" he pulled out two cards and placed his chakra into them to reveal the two Genin.

"Show it to me" Sasuke demanded.

"Ok first up is Rock Lee" he revealed the bushy browed boy whom they fought earlier "Looks like he's a year older than you guys, mission experience 11 C ranks and 20 D ranks, his squad leader is Gai and in the last 12 months his Taijutsu has radically improved, his other skills are rather shaky, last year he got a lot of attention as a Genin for some reason he chose not to participate in the Chunin exam, this will be the first time he has been a candidate same as you guys, his team mates are Ten Ten and Neji Hyuga."

"Huh, Hyuga?" Naruto tilted his head to the side but said nothing more.

"Ok now for Gaara of the desert" he showed his second card that had the red-haired teen, Sasuke noticed Mieko becoming more interested in this ninja and frowned "Mission experience 8 C ranks and 1 B rank as a Genin, there's not a lot of information on this guy, he was a rookie from another land originally but there is this…he's survived every mission without getting a scratch on him."

"The dude's done a B rank as a Genin and has never even been injured" Shikamaru gasped in shock, his usual bored tone turned into one of shock.

"What's the deal with this guy?" Kabuto pulled out his map once more.

"Leaf, sand, rain, grass, waterfall, sound, from the looks of it they've all sent exceptionally skilled candidates to the exam this time around, of course the hidden sound village is small it sprang up recently and no one knows anything about it, those guys are a mystery" he brought his deck back to his chest "well you get the point, the competition is going to be tense this year."

"So it would seem" Hinata whispered "It's almost enough to make you lose your confidence."

"It's a fine time to start talking like that!" Ino shouted.

"Do you really think it's going to be tougher this time?" Sakura asked nervously.

"Ooh yeah, in the four years I've been coming I've never seen a crop of candidates with as much potential as this much, yep, we've got our work cut out for us" the entire group became incredibly nervous, minus Mieko who looked more concerned than anything.

"Hey don't worry Naruto we'll be fine" Sakura tried to cheer up the blonde but stopped when she noticed he was not shaking from fear, he suddenly roared and pointed a finger to all the other Genin.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I'm gonna beat every one of ya!"

"What are you trying to do get us killed!" Ino screamed, "Tell your boyfriend to keep his big fat mouth shut!"

"Whose boyfriend!"

"Oh, I forgot you can't get one!"

"WHADYO SAY!"

"Yeah, I feel a lot better now!"

"You're gonna die now Naruto" Mieko walked over and pulled Naruto away from the group that now wanted to murder him.

"Ahh can you say that again a little louder, didn't quite catch that," Kiba said, trying to get Naruto in even more trouble.

"You moron, are you trying to get everyone in this place to hate our guts or what?"

"NARUTO!" Sakura grabbed Naruto and put him in a choke hold "Oh hi everyone don't mind him sometimes he says these spazzy things he doesn't really mean them they just kinda come out he has this uh condition you know kind of a psychological thing you know he really should be on medication huh" she began punching his head "now see what you've done Naruto you've hurt everybody's feelings, they don't think you respect them but that isn't trying Naruto."

"You're making it worse Sakura" Mieko muttered before she tensed and wrapped her shadows around her small group when she felt an enemies presence, she watched as two sound Shinobi attacked Kabuto, he blocked both their attacks but a high pitched whistle ran through her ears and caused her head to throb "he's fast" she gasped when his glasses broke.

"Oh so it was that kind of attack" Kabuto pulled off his now broken glasses.

"Hey I saw what happened he dodged his attack, how did that happen" Sasuke demanded, he became livid when he saw Mieko walk into the fight.

"It must have come closer than it looked" Shikamaru scoffed "look at him acting like it was nothing" Mieko jumped back when Kabuto began vomiting.

"What did he just?"

"Kabuto what's wrong."

"Heh, not such a tough guy after all I guess, maybe that's why he's on his seventh try."

"Write this on your little card punk, the Genin from the sound village will be Chunin when this is over."

Mieko calmly walked forward so she didn't provoke the sound ninja "that's enough!" she ordered strongly, flaring her chakra slightly to show them she meat business "If you continue to fight with the other candidates you will be disqualified."

"And who are you to tell me what to do little girl!" the female of the sound village sneered, Mieko glared and made her eyes go black and golden pupils glow

"My name is Mieko Hatake, daughter of the Copy Cat Ninja, you listen to me or I kick your ass out before you can even say Chunin" she threatened darkly.

"Perfectly said Mieko!" A voice spoke from an explosion, all Genin turned to a staging area where a man appeared from the smoke "Alright you baby-faced degenerates pipe down and listen up!" a large group of Chunin appeared behind a man with scars littering his face "It's time to begin, I'm Ibuki Morino your proctor and from this moment your worst enemy."


	16. My baby completed the exam!

"I'm Ibiki Morino, proctor for the first test of the Chunin Exam" all the Genin stared at the intimidating man silently, wondering what he would do. The proctor brought his finger out and pointed to the Sound Genin "You, from Hidden Sound Village! No doing as you please before the Exam! You want to be failed from the get-go?!"

The scariest of the Sound Genin, a slouching man with all but his left eye covered in bandages, turned to Ibiki "sorry, it's our first time taking the Exams, so we flipped out…despite ourselves" the man didn't sound sorry and the proctor instantly noticed.

Ibiki smirked "Hmph. This is a good opportunity, so I'll say this" he glanced over all the Genin "there will be no battles, competitions and the like without the permission of the proctors! And even if you get permission, actions that could lead to the death of an opponent will not be permitted. Any pig that screws with me will be disqualified immediately. Got it?!"

The other Sound Genin, a sadistic spiky haired boy smirked at the proctor "this Exam looks to be easy!"

"Now then, we will start the first test of the Chunin Exam! Turn in your applications, take one of these number cards in exchange, and sit in the seat matching that number! After that, we will hand out the paper for the written test!"

Naruto squinted his eyes at the proctor's words "written…? Paper…? Paper…Paper…" he looked over to one of the proctors and saw him holding a stack of papers. His eyes widened in panic "A PAPER TEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSTTT!?"

 **START YOUR ENGINES! THE CHUNIN EXAM BEGINS!**

After Mieko calmed down a panicking Naruto and ushered him into the seat in front of her. The proctors sat in chairs on both sides of the room so they could see everything. Mieko sat behind him and next to Sasuke whilst Sakura sat behind them.

 _'Everyone's seats are all scattered…what should I do?'_ Naruto thought despondently, he hated that he wasn't sitting next to any of his team members. He grabbed his head and shook it rapidly.

 _'He's deflated, deflated…it's the worst type of test for Naruto…'_ Sakura chuckled to herself, feeling immense satisfaction at Naruto's stupidity and soon failure.

"Naruto…" a soft and sweet whisper floated over to the panicking Naruto.

He blinked and realised it was Hinata speaking to him "Oh! You are Hinata…since when have you…?"

The sweet girl blushed and looked down at the table "l-lets both do your best" she said to her secret crush.

Naruto smiled and said, "y-yeah" out loud though on the inside he said _'I didn't notice her at all. Hinata has no presence at all…'_

"There are several important rules to this first test" Ibiki called out to the class as he held a chalk to the blackboard behind him "I will take no questions so listen well accordingly!"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the proctor ' _rules? No questions will be taken…?'_ she went silent and looked back at the teacher.

"First off is the is the first rule!" the proctor began writing on the blackboard "you are given ten points each from the start! The written test has ten problems in all! Each problem is one point. And this test is a point deduction system. You are deducted by one for each problem you get wrong! If you get three wrong you'll have seven points!"

Naruto grabbed his chin in thought ' _if I get ten wrong, I'll have zero points…'_

"The second rule" Ibiki continued "pass or failure will be determined by the total points of the three or four-person team" every single team froze in shock and fear if one of their team members failed then they all would. They would have to wait for months to do the exam again and even then they may fail again.

Team 7 was panicking for one reason…Naruto "w-wait a minute!" Sakura screamed to Ibiki "what do you meann…total points of the teams?"

"Shut up!" Ibiki ordered Sakura sternly "there's a perfectly good reason for this! Shut up and listen! If you've got it, here is the most important next rule! Those who are deemed by the sentinels as having committed an act of cheating or something similar to that…will have two points deducted for each act."

"What…?"

"Oh! In other words…there may be those who will be dismissed during the test without waiting for test grading."

A proctor with thick spiky hair smirked evilly to all the Genins "Know that those who commit awkward cheating…will bring ruin upon yourselves, I'll check your anytime."

Ibiki continued "if you aspire to become a Chunin at all, know that Shinobi should act like exemplary Shinobi."

Mieko remained calm as she knew Sakura, Sasuke and herself will be fine. Naruto, however…

"And, in the case of even one person on the team getting zero points…everyone on that team will fail!"

"Wha-!"

"What did he say…?!"

"Fuck!"

Naruto shivered as he felt three dark glares stabbing right into the back of his head "Naruto?" Hinata asked the shivering boy in concern when he didn't answer she turned back to the proctor.

"By the way, the last problem will be given forty-five minutes after the start of the test! The time for the test is one-hour" Team 7 got prepared and determined to start their test…except for Naruto, he was still panicking. "Begin!"

Everyone who knew the answers starting scribbling the answers down straight away, the ones who knew some answered what they knew and others stared at their papers with a blank mind. Mieko scribbled down all the answers she could, she was feeling immensely grateful for all the lessons she had with her father, they were annoying when she did them but now she was glad for them. As she continued the questions she realised that the end ones were incredibly difficult that she didn't think Sakura could answer them ' _the parabola B in the diagram illustrates the greatest possible distance. Enemy Ninja A can throw his Shuriken from a tree seven meters high…Predict and answer the Enemy Ninja's character inferred from the ellipse this Shuriken forms, also answer the longest firing range in battle on the flat ground and explain your basis…what the actual fuck!'_ Mieko yelled to herself in frustration, this was easy but for Naruto…there was no way he could solve it. How could they ever hope to pass if they don't cheat… ' _no…wait, that's it! Cheating! These types of questions were never learnt in the academy and once we graduate there is no point in learning anything unless you're really dedicated. This isn't a test of knowledge, this is a test on cheating, they are forcing us to cheat! Excellent!"_ she spared a glance towards Sasuke and noticed that he too had realised the point of the exam. Soon everyone else realised the point of the exercise too…not Naruto, never Naruto.

Mieko used her advanced hearing to hear the scratching of a pencil, how long it was, the curve, points and lines of every word or number. As someone wrote the answers she copies them perfectly. She looked over at Sasuke and tapped the table to get his attention. He stopped writing the last answer and looked over at her, she motioned with her eyes to the table where she was using her claws to carve the answers. He smirked and used his Sharingan to cheat by copying her hand finger movements.

Ibiki smirked at the Hatake child, she didn't need to use any technique or unique skill, she used her advance hearing which is a highly values skill. Many ninjas took years to improve their senses beyond the limit a human has, she has no need to train, hers were more advanced than humans the moment she was born, if she was to train then she could be the best spy or assassin of Konoha.

Everyone had their own unique way of cheating, Kiba used Akamaru to look at the answers as no one though a dog was cheating. Ino possessed Sakura and memorised the answers, Gaara used his sand to look at the answers. Everyone had a different technique but all got the answers.

Ibiki was staring at the Genin diligently cheating, seeing as he was excellent at gathering information, it wasn't that hard to see how each person cheated, they were lucky that he wasn't calling people out otherwise everyone would be gone. _'I think we almost finished shaking off the losers. Then I guess I'll move onto the main issue. It has been 45 minutes, so I'll start'_ he glared at his shouted and shouted "all right! Here is the tenth question!" everyone stopped and stared at their proctor.

 _'Here it comes…'_ Naruto thought to himself, his entire body was shivering with fear ' _I have to put everything on the line for this question!'_

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the proctor, incredibly unimpressed ' _hmph! Making such a big deal.'_

Sakura wasn't fazed by the final question, she was confident that she could answer anything _'this is the final obstacle.'_

 _'This will be a piece of cake'_ Mieko thought confidently ' _no problem.'_

"But before that, I'm going to add some rules for the last question" the door to the room open and one of the Kazekage's kids, Kankuro, strolled in "aren't you lucky? It looks like playing with the dolls wasn't a waste, after all? Anyway, sit down." The boy quickly did as was told "Let me explain! These are…the hopeless rules!"

 _"Hopeless rules…?!"_ Naruto thought grimly.

"First, you guys will have to choose whether or not you will talk this 10th question."

Team seven stared at Ibiki with the same feelings of fear _'huh? Choose whether or not to take the exam?'_

"What, choose?!" Temari, the only female of the Kazekage's children shouted: "what happens if you chose not to take the 10th exam?"

Ibiki nodded "if you chose not to take the exam then your score will be zero. In other words, you fail! And of course, the same goes for the others in the same group!"

"W-what does that mean!" someone shouted, "of course, everybody is going to choose to take the exam!"

"This is ridiculous! As if we have a choice!"

Ibiki was unfazed by the angered shouting "and…one more rule…if you chose to take it and are unable to answer it correctly, then you will have to…relinquish your right of taking the Chunin Exam forever!"

"What!" Mieko screamed angrily, how is that a rule, is he even able to do that!?

"What kind of ridiculous rule is that?!" Kiba shouted angrily as he pointed to the head proctor "besides, there are plenty of people here who have taken the Chunin Exam many times!"

Ibiki started to chuckle deeply, slowly "you're just unlucky, I make the rule this year. But I did give you the option to go back! For those of you who aren't confident, you can choose not to take it and take the exam next year of the year after that."

 _'Oh! How terrible!'_ Sakura thought to herself _'if one out of the three chooses not to take the exam, then all three will be failed. If you do choose to take it but get the wrong answer…then that person will be a Genin for the rest of their life! No matter what, the odds are against us! It's an impossible choice for anyone with normal nerves!'_

"Then, let's begin…The 10th question…Those who will not be taking it, raise your hands! Once I confirm your number, I'll ask you to leave!"

Everyone had mixed expressions on their faces, no one knew whether to raise their hand or not. _'what kind of a question is it going to be…?'_ though Naruto, his hands were clenched and his teeth were grinding against each other. _'Darn! If I get it wrong, I'll be a Genin for the rest of my life. I don't want that! But if I choose not take it…Then I'll fail Sasuke, Mieko and Sakura, too! I don't want that either!'_

Sakura was having the same dilemma as her team member _'I won't raise my hand! I'm confident that I can answer it correctly. But…But Naruto! You're different! You should retreat this time even if it means to ignore us and think of your next chance to take the Exam!'_

Making up his mind, the man beside Naruto raised his hand in the air "I…I…I'm quitting! I'm not going to take it!"

"#50 failed!" one of the proctors called out "#130, #111 will be failed as well…"

The man who raised his hand bowed his head in shame "i-I'm sorry…Gennai! Inaho!" soon after, other Genin stood up to leave, their fear overriding them.

 _'Naruto…'_ Sakura thought desperately ' _why don't you raise your hand?'_ she was being selfish, she knew but she didn't want to never have another chance at being a Chunin! _'that guy…he's always got a one-track mind. Saying Hokage, Hokage all the time like a fool. I'm sorry, Naruto. It seems like…I don't want to…crush your unachievable dreams.'_ Sakura went to raise her hand but Naruto beat her to it. All of team 7 looked at the Uzumaki kid in shock, he was the last person they thought would raise their hand.

Mieko shook in fear. She couldn't go home to her father without completing the Exam, she just couldn't! She couldn't bear to see the disappointed look of her fathers face, he had been helping her so much all her life, using as much of his free time as possible to train her to become the best she could be. To come home after all their hard work and tell him she failed…she couldn't handle that.

Sasuke looked at the fear and despair flashing in her golden eyes _'don't do this Naruto, if not for yourself than for Mieko!'_

No one who knew Naruto could understand why this was happening, Naruto never gave up no matter how difficult the situation is. Suddenly, as quick as lightning, the hyperactive knuckleheaded ninja slammed his hand down on the desk and glared at Ibiki "Don't underestimate me! I won't run! I'll take it! But even if I'm stuck being a Genin forever, I will become a Hokage no matter what it takes!" he stood up from his chair "I'm not scared!" he slammed himself back down on his chair and crossed his arms so he looked serious.

Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes _'he wasn't even thinking of us at all. Such audacity!'_

Sakura smiled at the back of Naruto's head _'That's right…that's exactly the kind of fool you are!'_

 _'Of course, Naruto would never give up'_ Mieko said fondly _'I shouldn't have felt so scared.'_

"I'll ask again," Ibiki said to the Genins "it's a choice that will alter your life. If you want to quit, now is your chance!"

"I'm not going to take back my words!" Naruto said confidently "that is my Way of Ninja!"

His strong words gave all the other Genin the motivation they needed to go on with the final question. Ibiki remained stoic but he was inwardly assessing the nine tailed holder _'huh…what a funny kid. He completely brushed away those kids' anxieties. 78 huh? Much more left than I expected. It's going to be the same no matter how much more I push it.'_ He looked over his proctors and took notice of their encouraging nods. "I like your determination! Then…For those who are still here…The first exam…You have passed it!"

His words swirled through everyone's brains _"you have passed it!"_ the just couldn't comprehend how they passed.

"H-hey, what does that mean?" Sakura yelled to the head proctor "all of a sudden you're telling us that we've passed! What about the 10th question?"

Mieko growled and turned around to look at her pink-haired team member "shut up Sakura! Do you **want** him to give us another question!" the pinkette shivered and sat down.

"What about the 10th question?" Ibiki smirked "there wasn't such a thing to begin with! Well, you can look at the choice you just had to make the 10th question!"

"What?" Sakura asked stupidly.

"Hey!" now it was Temari's turn to shout at the proctor "then, what were all those nine questions for! It was just a waste of time!"

"Not a waste…the objective of the nine questions was already accomplished. To test your individual ability to gather information!"

"Ability to gather information?"

"Oh! That makes sense now" Mieko said chipperly as she slouched in her chair, the test wasn't that hard no that she knew the true objective. "I wish I figured that out before I started the test."

"But that would defeat the purpose Miss Hatake," Ibiki said once he overheard Mieko "First…the focus of this test was on the system of determining the pass or failure based on the three or four-person groups that were proposed in the first rule. By grading the exam on a group basis, I added the unimaginable pressure of dragging down your teammates."

Naruto nodded his head as if he knew what Ibiki meant, which he didn't "I see, I see. I kind of felt that was the point of this test!" his team did not look impressed.

 _'No, you didn't!"_

"However…The questions on these tests weren't things that you Genin Ninja would have been able to solve…So in that case…I imagined that most of you here would have come to this conclusion: 'in order to score points, I'll have to cheat.' In other words, this exam was created under the premise that you all would cheat! That being said, I had two Chunin in the group who knew all of the answers from who you could cheat" two Ninjas in disguised raised their hands.

 _'What?! That's what it was?!'_ Naruto screamed inside his mind before anyone could see his confusion he placed his hands behind his head and leant back in his chair "It was so obvious! There's something wrong with you if you didn't notice! Right, Hinata?!"

Sasuke looked over to Mieko and shared a deadpanned look _'he…didn't realise it…'_

"However…" Ibiki continued "those who just foolishly cheated naturally were disqualified. That's because…information, depending on the time and situation, it will be more valuable than life. And in a mission or on a battlefield" he took off his Hitai-ate so show his incredibly scared head, it was hideously grotesque and scared all of the Genins. "you will always have to risk your life to fight for it!"

"Horrible burn marks, nail punctures and scratches…those are signs of physical torture!" Sasuke look impressed that the proctor was still living and not criminally insane.

Ibiki placed his bandanna over his head and continued speaking, "When information is gathered and the enemy or a third party finds out about it, that information is no longer guaranteed to be correct. Just remember this. To be given the wrong information can bring a catastrophic blow to your friends and town. So that is why, out of necessity, we forced you guys to cheat in order to test your ability to collect information. And we filtered out those who were clearly lacking in those abilities."

"But…" Temari began "the last question doesn't make any sense."

"This 10th question was the main issue of this first exam."

"Huh?" Sakura asked, she just couldn't wrap her head around this Exam "what do you mean?"

"I'll explain. The 10th question was to take on the question or not. Needless to say, it is a painful decision to make. Those who chose not to take on the question would be immediately failed along with their whole squad! Those who chose to answer the question and got it wrong…would be robbed of their chance to take the exam forever. It really is an unfair question. Then, how about these two choices? Let's say that you guys did become a Chunin. The mission is to steal a secret document! You have no idea how many Ninjas the enemy has, their ability, and other armament they may have. On top of that, there may be the pitfall of an enemy trap. Now this mission…Will you take it? Or not take it? Because you want your life spared…because your partners will be put in danger…Can you get away from dangerous missions? The answer is…No!

There are going to be missions you cannot avoid no matter how risky or dangerous it may be! Showing your courage to your teammates in a tight spot, and the ability to get through the hardships…This is the quality that is needed for a Chunin troop leader! In a pinch, there are those who cannot risk their own fate and those who waver and give up their chances because they think they will have another chance. I believe that such fools who don't have strong determination have no right to become a Chunin! For those of you who chose to take on the question, you can say that you have successfully answered the difficult 10th question! You shall be able to take on the adversity that may lie in your way."

"This guy is so cool" Mieko muttered to herself with an awed smile.

"You've passed through the gates! The first exam for the Chunin Exam has been completed. I wish you well!"

"All right! Wish us well!" Naruto screamed happily as he started jumping up and down "I did it! I did it! Yeaaah!" Mieko sighed and leaned her head against Sasuke's shoulder, hoping no one knew Naruto was apart of their team. Sasuke chuckled and stroked her tail that tried to wrap around his upper thigh.

Ibiki watched team 7's different reaction _'what an interesting group…'_ he stopped when he noticed a shadow flying towards the window. The glass shattered and kunais were thrown and stabbed into the roof. Everyone stiffened and thought they were going to be attacked.

"W-what's going on?!" Naruto stuttered fearfully.

"You guys! This isn't the time to be celebrating! I'm the proctor for the second exam! Anko Mitarashi!" an incredibly attractive woman with reveal clothing stood before a cloth that hid Ibiki behind it. "let's move onto the next stage! Next! Follow me!"

No one moved.

Ibiki moved away from the cloth and looked to Anko "read the atmosphere."

"This must be Naruto's long lost sister…" Mieko muttered into Sasuke shoulder, he chuckled but agreed with her.

"78? Ibiki! You let 26 teams slide by?" Anko said unimpressed "I guess, the first exam this time around was too easy.

Ibiki smirked, "It seems like this time, there are a lot of excellent candidates."

"Huh! Well, all right…I'll drop more than half of them in the second exam! I'm getting excited. I'll give you the detail tomorrow so get information from your Jonin about the location and the time! That's it. You're dismissed" the groups sighed and stood from their seats and began filling out of the room. Anko looked at each person to assess them before freezing on a singular person. A small girl with white and black striped hair and tail was pulling what looked to be the last Uchiha out of the room excitedly. _'No! I thought she had died when Orochimaru abandoned his hideout 12 years ago!'_ she was there when Orochimaru first experimented on the pregnant Ninja, he believed that the baby had died and hadn't been able to recreate his experiment. The Hokage was hiding this child from her for years, how dare he! Who better to watch over Orochimaru's child then someone who was there when she was born! _'the Hokage has a lot to explain!'_ she stormed out of the room and raced to the Hokage's office.


End file.
